MV Kalangala resumes operations after four-day hiatus  

MV Kalangala, the only passenger cargo vessel plying Entebbe - Kalangala route on Friday resumed operations after spending nearly four days docked at Nakiwogo Pier in Entebbe, Wakiso District.
According to Mr Conerly Mujwahuzi, the vessel captain, marine engineers had fixed the minor mechanical issues which had forced the vessel to suspend operations.
"They [marine engineers] have fixed all the minor repairs on the stern ramp and its cables, and have cleared us to resume operations as we wait for its overhaul early next year,” he said in an interview on Saturday morning.
 
Mr Sadala Musoke, the chief executive officer of Nation Oil Distributors Limited (NODL), a firm managing the vessel, said islanders and tourists should be assured of stable operations this festive season.
 
“We could not sail when the condition of the vessel risks safety of our clients. Now we are good to go because the vessel is in good condition," he said.
According to him, the vessel’s fares will remain the same even during the festive season where travelers will pay Shs10, 000 for second class and Shs14, 000 for first class.
 
Passengers who sailed back to Kalangala with MV Kalangala on Friday evening told Monitor that the resumption of operations was a relief since they had been paying exorbitant fares to connect to the islands.
 
" We couldn't afford the Shs 20,000 for MV NODL, a private vessel which has been operating since Tuesday. We are very happy that the public vessel [MV Kalangala] is now back,” Ms Hellen Namusoke, a resident of Bwendero in Kalangala District said. 

Although MV Kalangala has resumed normal operations, MV Vanessa, a private passenger vessel that plies the Kasenyi  –Bukasa route is still  undergoing annual mandatory docking inspection.
MV Kalangala vessel was launched in 2005 as a fulfilment of the presidential pledge, to serve Islanders. The vessel last underwent annual mandatory docking inspection in February and is expected to go back early next year.

Being a key tourists’ destination, Kalangala usually records huge number of visitors during the festive season. This has always left the vessels with no option, but to overload beyond the recommended passenger capacity, which is against Ministry of Health social distancing rules.