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State agency probes Liberian-flagged ship which drifted to a beach

FROM LEFT: Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Chairman Hamisi Mwaguya, Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya CAS Mining and Blue Economy Fred Outa, KMA Ag Director General John Omingo and Fisheries PS Shadrack Mwadime during a familiarization tour of the almost complete KMA Towers in Mombasa on March 31, 2023.

Photo credit: POOL|NMG

By  Anthony Kitimo

What you need to know:

  • The vessel, which was carrying cargo containers, ran aground a few kilometres from Mombasa port on Monday and was pushed by the Indian Ocean waters towards a public beach at Mkomani in Nyali.
  • KMA acting Director General John Omingo said on Wednesday that they were investigating the cause of the grounding of the MV MSC Eagle F and whether it had caused any environmental damage.

The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) has commenced investigations into the Liberian-flagged vessel that drifted towards a beach in Mombasa after suffering mechanical failure.

Cargo containers 

The vessel, which was carrying cargo containers, ran aground a few kilometres from Mombasa port on Monday and was pushed by the Indian Ocean waters towards a public beach at Mkomani in Nyali.

Related

KMA acting Director General John Omingo said on Wednesday that they were investigating the cause of the grounding of the MV MSC Eagle F and whether it had caused any environmental damage.

Multi-agency team 

Mr Omingo said the investigations were being carried out by a multi-agency team looking into the matter and a report would soon be made available to the public.

"We have done a preliminary investigation on the vessel and we want to find out how two engines can fail at the same time. The ship is 23 years old but we cannot prejudge the report," said Mr Omingo.

Oil spillage

He added: "We also found that the hull of the ship was damaged but fortunately the second layer was not affected so there was no oil spillage that could have affected the ecosystem."

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Head of Corporate Affairs Bernard Osero said the 426 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessel was damaged at about 11.35am on Monday before drifting out of the channel in the afternoon.

In the headlines