Oil spilling ship on despite removal order

The disused ship wreck anchored along Kunduchi shoreline. PHOTOS | VENANCE NESTORY 

By Athuman Mtulya, The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

The National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) gave the ultimatum of October 13 for the vessel, RAK Indiana, to be docked on dry land.

Dar es Salaam. The unused ship which poses a great danger to public health in the city is still anchored at Kunduchi shores days after the government’s deadline for its removal passed.

The National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) gave the ultimatum of October 13 for the vessel, RAK Indiana, to be docked on dry land.

The 1979 Holland-built ship owned by J.AK Enterprises has been abandoned at Kunduchi Beach since last year, spilling oil into the ocean, raising fears of a crisis affecting the hotel, fishing and tourism activities in the vicinity. Photos of the ship show the oil spill spreading into outlying waters from it has been spotted some 20 to 30 kilometres away.

State officials want quick action to protect fishermen, beach goers and Mbudya Island--which is popular with tourists and fun-seeking Dar residents--from the toxic effects of the spillage but that might take long to be achieved.

The Citizen yesterday toured the site only to find the decommissioned ship with no one inside. Beach goers have been asking themselves what the ship is doing in the area.

“It looks abandoned and its big too. I wonder what it is doing here even though there is no port here,” this reporter overheard residents in the area saying. Fishermen a few metres from the ship who were busy offloading their catch told this paper that they are disappointed at the government for failing to take it outside the waters.

“During high tide you can vividly see the spill…they have been dismantling it for scrap metals for months but we have not seen the government acting.

If the owners have abandoned it and the government can’t get hold of them then they should take responsibility for taking it to dry land and saving us all from this disaster in the making,” said fisherman Yakub Ali.

NEMC were first tipped about the ship July of this year and after August deliberations they met with representatives of the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Dar es Salaam, Sumatra, Tanzania Ports Authority, Kunduchi ward executive officer and representatives of the Vice President’s office, Marine Park and Occupational Health and Safety Authority.

It was agreed that no more repairs likely to pollute the sea would be carried out on the RAK Indiana, owned by J.AK Enterprises.

The ship owner was reportedly ordered to dock the worn-out ship on dry land no later than a month but failed to do so. They ordered no repair to be done.

However more complaints were lodged that the ship was continuing to cause pollution in the same area. On 12 September another meeting was held and decided that a penalty of Sh5 million be imposed on the same ship and a month a deadline which expired on Sunday last week to remove it was delivered.