Prime
Govt worried of oil spill in Lake Victoria
A UPDF officer patrols Lake Albert shoreline in Kalangala District. In Lake Victoria, their is a looming danger of a possible explosion of more than 30,000 litres of diesel. Photo/ Francis Mugerwa
What you need to know:
Nema officials say the oil tanks that sank after MV Kabalega accident in 2005 are expanding and could explode any time, causing an oil spill in Lake Victoria.
There is a looming danger of an explosion and eventual spill of more than 30,000 litres of diesel in Lake Victoria by fuel tankers that sank alongside MV Kaawa Ferry more than 16 years ago.
The warning was sounded by Dr Tom Okurut, the executive director of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), during the inauguration of the new Nema board in Kampala yesterday.
“MV Kabalega sank in Lake Victoria when it was coming from Mwanza and the oil is still in the tankers. There have been attempts to lift up the boat but they have failed and the tanks are expanding and can explode any time, causing an oil spill,” Dr Okurut said .
“We are trying to use some technology to suck out the oil without spilling it into the lake and see if this can be successful,” he added.
When asked what the impact of the oil spill could be on aquatic life, he said oil is lighter than water and when it spills, it will float, cutting off oxygen supply, thereby killing marine life.
MV Kabalega, a train wagon ferry operated by the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC), sank in May 2005, about 150 feet between Kuye Islands and Mazinga Sub-county and Bukasa in Kyamuswa Sub-county in what is known to be the Ssese chain of islands, following a collision with another URC owned ferry, popularly known as MV Kaawa.
At the time of the collision, MV Kabalega, which was loaded with about 6,800 tonnes of wheat and oil, was headed to Port Bell in Uganda while MV Kaawa was headed out to Tanzania’s Lake Victoria port of Mwanza.
MV Kaawa’s bow was damaged, but its crew managed to return it to Port Bell, but MV Kabalega’s fate was different.
MV Kaawa struck Kabalega’s bow sending the railway wagons on its deck into the water. The ferry’s tank was also ruptured, allowing water to make a rapid entry that eventually sank it.
New NEMA board
In his remarks to the new board headed by Prof James Okot Okumu, Dr Okurut vowed to manage the pending oil spill a challenge before his term of office expires on June 30. The Nema board replaces the one previously chaired by Prof Sanday Stevens Tikodri Togboa, the former Science and Technology minister. Other members include Dr Priscilla Nyadoi, Dr John Ekure, Dr Florence Grace Adongo, Eng Katwiremu Yorokamu Bategana, Ms Christine Mayengo, Mr Can Amos Lapenga, and Mr Jimmy Chemonges Kuka.
