Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL) – History, Fleet, Corporate Affairs and More
The Marine Services Company Limited’s base is in Tanzania. It is a firm that deals with cargo ships, ferries, and supertankers on three noteworthy African Lakes, such as Lake Tanganyika, Lake Nyasa, and Lake Victoria. It supplies services to neighboring, Malawi Zambia, Burundi, and DR Congo.
History of the Marine Services Company Limited Tanzania
Marine Services Company Limited was a predecessor to Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) before it was incorporated in 1997. A new company was established in 1977 after the East African Railway and Harbor Company [EARHC] was dissolved. Overloading caused the MV Bukoba to capsize on the 21 of May 1996 while traveling from Bukoba going to Mwanza. Approximately 723 people died as a result.
Marine Services Company Limited Corporate Affairs
The Tanzanian Regime solely owns the Marine Services Company Limited through the Treasury Registrar and functions under the guidance of the Ministry of Transport. The capital amounts to One thousand shares, each having a nominal value of one thousand shillings each. The company’s main office is in the northern metropolis of Mwanza at the shoreline of Lake Victoria. It preserves two department offices in Kyela and Kigoma and contact offices in Kampala and Dar es Salaam.
Services Offered by the Marine Services Company Limited
The Lake Tanganyika ferry system operates between Bujumbura in Burundi, Mpulungu in Zambia, and Kalemie, Baraka, and Uvira, in the DRC. Additionally, the company serves Mbamba Bay in southern Tanzania, as is Nkhata Bay in Malawi. Over the period between July 2013 and April, 2014 Marine Services Company Limited carried 231,866 passengers and 41,234 tons of cargo.
Marine Services Company Limited Fleet
Th vast majority of the Marine Services Company Limited’s fleet is located on Lake Victoria and includes MV Victoria, the previous Royal Mail Ship. MV Liemba [formerly the Royal German Navy’s SMS Graf von Goetzen] was created in 1913 and still functions on Lake Tanganyika. The company’s unique uniforms seem to be the same as TRC’s forerunner, the East African Railways, and Harbours Corporation: white hull overhead the waterline, white superstructure, and buff funnel. The hull beneath the waterline seems to be reddish.
Current
| Ship Names | Year Built | Year Rehabilitated | Speed | Passengers carried | Goods(t) | The Lake it served |
| MV Butiama | 1980 | – | 12.5 | 200 | 100 | Victoria |
| MV Clarias | 1961 | 1993 | 10.5 | 290 | 10 | Victoria |
| MV Iringa | 1974 | 1988 | 10 | 139 | 5 | Nyasa |
| MV Liemba | 1913 | 1993 | 10.5 | 600 | 200 | Tanganyika |
| ML Maindi | 1938 | 1972 | 8 | – | 120 | Victoria |
| MV Mwongozo | 1982 | 1992 | 11 | 800 | 80 | Tanganyika |
| MT Nyangumi | 1958 | 1995 | 9 | – | 350 | Victoria |
| MT Sangara | 1981 | – | 9 | – | 350 | Tanganyika |
| MV Serengeti | 1988 | – | 9.5 | 593 | 350 | Victoria |
| MV Songea | 1974 | 1994 | 10 | 212 | 40 | Nyasa |
| MV Umoja | 1964 | – | 11 | – | 1,200 | Victoria |
| MT Ukerewe | 1938 | 1972 | – | – | 740 | Victoria |
| MV Victoria | 1960 | 1989 | 12.5 | 1,200 | 200 | Victoria |
| ML Wimbi | 1938 | 1972 | 8 | – | 120 | Victoria |
Future
According to Transport Minister Harrison Mwakyembe, the government‘s plans to acquire three new vessels from Denmark were delayed until June 2015, following a 163 percent increase in value. Construction of the ships will take three years, and the purchasing price stands at US$74.9 million. In addition, he stated efforts are underway to procure three new vessels from South Korea.
Accidents and Incidents Involving Marine Services Company Limited
- While MV Victoria was anchored at the port in February of 2013, a fire incident ensued. It is said it happened on the lower deck due to welding Maintainance that was going on and the devastation of the fire spread to the storage room. The fire was put under control within two hours, and there was enough blame to go around. The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authorities [SUMATRA] blamed Management solely for professional carelessness.
- Midway on its trip from Bukoba to Mwanza on the 10 of October 2014, MV Victoria had an engine malfunction and broke down.
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