Coast

State to conduct inspection of marine vessels, urges full registration by April 1

Cabinet Secretary Mining and Blue Economy Salim Mvurya during a stakeholder meeting with Board of Directors of Kenya Maritime Authority Bandari Maritime Academy and Kenya National Shipping Line on February 12, 2024. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

By Farhiya Hussein | Tuesday, February 13, 2024

CS Mvurya says the government wants to have clear and concise statistical data of vessels plying within Kenya's water bodies, as well as ascertain operational conditions.

The government will start conducting inspections of marine vessels as it urged their owners to ensure all their registrations are in order by April 1.

The government announced a waiver for marine vessels on Monday.

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“We are set to begin the exercise of inspecting marine vessels operating in the Indian Ocean and all inland water bodies. I urge all vessel owners to do the required registration and as a Government, we are giving a waiver on this, starting April 1, 2024,” said the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Salim Mvurya.

CS Mvurya who on Monday held a consultative meeting with the Board of Directors of Kenya Maritime Authority, Bandari Maritime Academy, and Kenya National Shipping Line, noted the government wants to have clear and concise statistical data of vessels plying within our water bodies, as well as ascertain operational conditions.

He was accompanied by the PS State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs Shadrack Mwadime.

A maritime inspection is a general surface inspection of the physical condition of a vessel cataloguing any noticeable damage, wear or other problems that could potentially impact its value.

This includes prominent holes in the hull, obvious water damage rotting or even mould growth.

Cabinet Secretary Mining and Blue Economy Salim Mvurya (centre) together with the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Board of Directors on February 12, 2024. (Photo: Farhiya Hussein)

According to the CS, the inspection of water-going vessels must be frequently inspected to ascertain their conditions.

Vessel inspection unit

This is usually done through the vessel inspection unit of Kenya Maritime Authority under the Maritime Safety Department.

“The government has already offered a waiver for the exercise which will include vessels in the Indian Ocean and Inland waters across the country,” said CS Mvurya.

He said the reason the government wants to carry out the major inspection is to make sure that those vessels are worthy in terms of where they are being operated and meet the set criteria.

“We want to also register all vessels to help us in managing rescue operations, just in case we have a missing vessel we can know. We will be giving the vessels unique identities as part of making sure that they operate within a safe environment,” the CS said.

According to Mvurya, the inspection exercise will help them have a good database of the vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Inland waters.

The exercise will be free and will run for 12 months.

They also deliberated on waiver of inspection fees for vessels below 24 metres to boost compliance, reducing the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW fees) to enhance maritime education accessibility by all and enhancing transparency in seafarer recruitment.