MV Umoja

MV Umoja is a Lake Victoria ferry in East Africa. She is a train ferry that Marine Services Company Limited of Mwanza, Tanzania[3] operates between Jinja, Mwanza, Musoma and Kisumu.[1] Umoja means "unity" in Swahili. She has been involved in several accidents and is featured in a book by Paul Theroux.

History
malformed flag image
NameMV Umoja
Port of registryKisumu
Routeon Lake Victoria between Jinja, Mwanza, Musoma & Kisumu[1]
BuilderYarrow Shipbuilders[1]
Yard number2242[1]
Launched1965[1]
In service1966[2]
FateTransferred to Tanzania
History
Tanzania
NameMV Umoja
OperatorMarine Services Company Limited
Port of registryMwanza
Acquired1977
Statusin service
General characteristics
Typetrain ferry[1]
Tonnage
Length91.75 m (301 ft)[3]
Beam16.5 m (54.1 ft)[3]
Draught3.96 m (13 ft)[3]
Installed power1,480 hp (1,100 kW) V-8[2] diesel[1]
Propulsionscrew[1]

History

Umoja and her sister ship MV Uhuru were built in 1965 by Yarrow Shipbuilders in Scotstoun, Glasgow, Scotland,[1][4] and entered service in 1966.[2] At over 300 ft (91 m), they were the longest vessels on any of the East African lakes.[2]

The two vessels were owned and operated by the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EARH) until 1977, when EARH was divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Uhuru was transferred to the new Kenya Railways Corporation[1] and Umoja was transferred to the new Tanzania Railways Corporation.[4]

Umoja struck rocks in 1990, 1996, and 2002. The 2002 accident caused $160,000 worth of damage.

In 1997 TRC's inland shipping division became a separate company, the Marine Services Company Ltd.[5]

In his book Dark Star Safari, Paul Theroux gives an account of a journey on Lake Victoria aboard Umoja, detailing the hazards from out-of-date charts and emphasising the friendliness and competence of the crew.[6]

References
  1. Cameron, Stuart (2004). "Umoja (1965)". Clyde-built Database. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. Amin, Mohamed; Willetts, Duncan; Matheson, Alastair (1986). Railway Across The Equator: The Story of the East African Line. London: The Bodley Head. pp. 140–143. ISBN 0-370-30774-7.
  3. "MV. Umoja". Vessels. Marine Services Company Limited. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  4. Cameron, Stuart (2004). "Uhuru (1965)". Clyde-built Database. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. "Home". Marine Services Company Limited. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  6. Theroux, Paul (2003). Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. not cited. ISBN 0-618-13424-7.
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