MV Kalangala, a vessel that hovers the Lutoboka-Nakiwogo route is expected to resume normal operations tomorrow, April 5 after spending 40 days undergoing servicing.
The ferry was withdrawn on February 24 to undergo the annual mandatory intermediate docking review.
MV Kalangala is managed by Nation Oil Distributors Ltd (NODL), but servicing and repairing of the vessel is done by the Ministry of Works and Transport.
According to Mr Sadala Musoke, the chief executive officer of Nation Oil Distributors Ltd, the ferry broke down two weeks before it was due for an annual review.
“We have used this time to give it (MV Kalangala vessel) the servicing it needed. I want to assure our clients that they are going to get the best and timely services starting with these busy days ahead of the Easter Holiday,” he said in an interview on Tuesday
Mr Sadala said the vessel is expected to leave the Nakiwogo landing site at 2 pm tomorrow and dock at the Lutoboka Landing site in Kalangala at 5 pm.
Unlike the previous years, MV Kalangala’s sailing schedule is not going to be interrupted as it is usually done during the Easter holiday because another vessel, MV NODL Victoria is available in case there are excess passengers connecting to the islands.
“In the past, MV Kalangala used to make additional trips during festive seasons like Easter and Christian to serve the overwhelming number of passengers, but this will not be the case anymore as MV NODL is fully operational now and will take passengers travelling to either Entebbe or Kalangala,” he said.
MV NODL Victoria has two decks with the capacity to carry 180 passengers, however, it doesn’t take heavy cargo and vehicles as MV Kalangala does. It also charges slightly higher fares compared to what MV Kalangala charges.
MV Kalangala is recommended to carry 150 passengers and 12 vehicles.
During its absence, passengers were using other vessels including MV NODL, MV Natalie, and MV Vanessa which don’t carry heavy cargo and vehicles. Those with vehicles were forced to travel by road to Masaka, which is about 170 kilometres to connect to Kalangala using either MV Pearl or MV Ssese.
Being a tourism destination, Kalangala receives a huge number of tourists both local and international using the Nakiwogo-Lutoboka as their convenient route.
