Passengers cry as MV Vanessa runs out of fuel in the middle of Lake Victoria

The captain of MV Vanessa has been detained for questioning following an incident in which passengers aboard the a luxurious water boat spent several hours in the middle of Lake Victoria.

According to Luke Oweyesigire, MV Vanessa, which plies the Entebbe-Kalangala route, Police Marine Unit responded to a distress call from Lake Victoria.

“According to the caller, a boat, MV Vanessa, which they had boarded from Kalangala District heading to Water Front Beach Entebbe, got stuck on the lake. The passengers were scared of what could happen next,” the deputy Kampala Metroploitan Police Spokesperson said in a statement released on Sunday evening.

The incident happened on Sunday.

“Police responded and later got to know that it was not a mechanical issue that had made the boat to fail, but they had run out of fuel. The boat management was sending fuel and the rescue team arrived at 5:17pm with fuel which enabled them to sail again to Lutoboka. We have summoned the boat captain to record statements upon what exactly happened and why he had opted to set sail without enough fuel,” he added

Vanessa that carries 54 passengers docks both at Lutoboka pier in Kalangala district and waterfront pier in Entebbe municipality.  The high tech Yatch runs at a speed of 40 knots from Entebbe to Kalangala, which means it takes less than an hour to reach its final destination.

It travels to Kalangala on Friday Evening taking revelers to tour the island. The vessel returns on Sunday evening to Entebbe. It costs Shs35,000 for a single trip to Kalangala and Shs70,000 for a return journey.

Oweyesigyire appealled to the public to always inform the Police Marine Unit whenever such issues happen on our toll free line 0800 300113.

On Saturday, November 24, 2018, several partiers lost their lives after MV Templar on which they were sailing to K-Palm Beach in Mpatta Sub County, Mukono district, capsized in probably the country’s worst maritime accident.