IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has expressed his great sadness over the recent casualty of the Nyerere, the domestic ferry which capsized on Lake Victoria, Tanzania, killing 224.
On behalf of the IMO membership, the Secretariat and myself, I would like to send our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the crew members and passengers who perished in the accident, as well as those who remain missing. I would also like to commend all those involved in the rescue operations.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Mr. Lim added that he looks forward to knowing about the investigation process and reporting, so that the IMO ‘can do whatever may be necessary with regard to the safety of passenger ships not covered by SOLAS, in order to reduce the chances of such a tragic event happening again’.
The ferry sank on Thursday evening just a few metres from the dock on Ukerewe, the lake’s biggest island. The official cause of the accident is yet to be determined, however the vessel was believed to carry more people than permitted, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, BBC reported that the overloaded vessel toppled over when crowds onboard moved to one side as it docked.
The people involved in this tragedy have been detained. In addition, a special investigation commission of experts will be deployed to investigate the causes of the accident.
A search and rescue team has been also attempting to flip the vessel back to its normal position so it can be towed to the dock, which could take two to three days.
