MV Victoria runs for 20 years without major maintenance

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Joas Kaijage, The Citizen Correspondent

The MV Victoria (photo), which travels on Lake Victoria between Bukoba and Mwanza ports, has not undergone major maintenance for over two decades, The Citizen has learnt.

But Mr Beatus Mghamba, the spokesman of  Marine Services Company, which operates the ship, said the 52-year-old vessel was still in good shape and safe for ferrying passengers and cargo.

Mr Mghamba, who doubles as the ship’s captain and the acting manager of the firm’s Mwanza branch, said in an exclusive interview with The Citizen that the vessel last underwent major maintenance between 1990 and 1991.

He said this preceded similar work on the MV Mwongozo in Lake Nyasa and MV Liemba in Lake Tanganyika in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

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