MV Kalangala starts night trips over surging number of travellers
Passengers go through a security check before boarding the MV Kalangala at Port Alice Nakiwogo landing site on December 22, 2021. PHOTO | SYLVESTER SSEMUGENYI
MV Kalangala, a public vessel plying the Entebbe –Kalangala route has embarked on making an extra trip to handle the surging number of travellers crossing to Kalangala Islands for Christmas holiday.
According to a statement issued by Nation Oil Distributors Ltd, the firm that manages the vessel, on some days the vessel crew will also be compelled to make a night trip to help passengers crossing to Kalangala or from Entebbe.
For instance today December 23, the vessel will leave Entebbe at exactly 3:30pm for Lutoboka in Kalangala where it will dock at 7:00pm.
Then at 7: 30pm, the vessel will leave Lutoboka for Nakiwogo in Entebbe where it will dock at 11pm in the night. A similar sailing schedule is expected to be followed on December 26 and December 27.
“Our vessel has a good lighting system that can enable it to sail at night. The night trips are intended to help travellers who may get stranded in either Entebbe or Kalangala,” Mr Sadala Musoke, the chief executive officer Nation Oil Distributors Ltd said.
Under the new arrangement, on the eve of Christmas, the vessel will leave Nakiwogo at exactly 7:30am for Lutoboka where it will dock at 11:00am. At 11: 30am, the vessel will leave Lutoboka for Nakiwogo where it will dock at 3:00pm and again leave Nakiwogo at 3:30pm for Lutoboka.
On Christmas Day, the vessel will sail from Lutoboka at 8am and dock at Nakiwogo at 11:30am, and leaves Nakiwogo at 2pm for Lutoboka where it will dock at 5:3pm.The same sailing schedule will be followed on December 28.
Mr Musoke said the change in the vessel’s sailing schedules which took effect December 22, will be in force up to December 28, noting that they have been given a green light by the Ministry of Works and Transport to help hundreds of travelers who plan to spend the festive season in the islands.
Usually, MV Kalangala makes a single daily return journey from Kalangala, starting at 8:30am to Nakiwogo in Entebbe where it docks at 11am. At around 2pm, it leaves Entebbe for Kalangala where it reaches at 5pm.
Despite the change in sailing schedules, Mr Musoke said the fares have remained the same, but urged travellers to book early and also observe the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Similarly , Kalangala Infrastructure Services (KIS), which manages the two ferries –MV Ssese and MV Pearl that operate between Masaka mainland and Kalangala has also increased their daily trips from 16 to 20 due to rising number of travelers connecting to the islands .
There has been an increase for hotel bookings since the first week of December with a huge number of tourists travelling to Kalangala. This has always left the vessels with no option, but to load beyond the recommended passenger capacity, which is against Ministry of Health social distancing rules.
