Shipwreck jobs costly: minister

The Government lacks the funds or expertise to remove abandoned shipwrecks on the Kenyan coast. The exercise was too expensive, Transport minister Ali Chirau Mwakwere said.
Kenya, he said, also lacked the technical capability to undertake such ventures.
He was speaking after the opening of an international conference on the removal of shipwrecks at the Unep headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi.
The minister said there was an urgent need to remove such wreckage to minimise pollution and improve navigation.
Nature of cargo

“We are indeed aware that there are lots of abandoned shipwrecks littering the area close to the port of Mombasa. Most of these vessels, depending on the nature of cargo cause substantial damage to marine and coastal environments,” said the minister.
The minister said he was optimistic that the draft convention on the removal of ship wrecks in the high seas would be passed, saying that the country would fully support it.
“The port of Mombasa is an important hub for many countries including Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan, northern Tanzania and Ethiopia and as such we must take good care of it,” said the minister.
“If these wrecks are allowed to stay in the ships’ pathways, then the country is likely to lose out on millions of shillings as goods being ferried to these countries will not reach their intended markets in time. That’s why we want these rules to be immediately passed for the benefits of our countries.”

Among the proposals in the draft convention include surcharging owners of such wreckage the full cost of removing them and cleaning up the hazardous waste to reduce their numbers in the oceans. Countries with coastlines have been complaining about abandoned wrecked vessels, which pose danger to users of international waters.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) secretary general, Mr Efthimios Mitropoulos, said there were an estimated 1,300 abandoned wrecks worldwide. He said once the convention was adopted, it would provide the legal basis for states to remove wrecks that had potential to affect the safety of goods and property at sea as well as the marine environment.
“However, the effective legislation of the new convention will, in most cases require the enactment of appropriate legislation and putting in place the requisite infrastructure to assist in proper assessment of any hazards,” said Mr Mitropoulos.

The four-day conference, which brings together 167 IMO members states, will also discuss locating ships and reporting wrecks to the nearest coastal state, determination of hazards, especially when they happen beyond territorial waters, and financial liability for locating, marking and removing ships and wrecks.

President Kibaki is expected to officially open it today.

Story by DAVE OPIYO

Publication Date: 5/15/2007