Delay at Likoni crossing after cargo ship stalls midway

Hundreds of ferry users were stranded for more than an hour on Friday evening after a cargo ship stalled at the Likoni crossing in Mombasa County.

MV Tassos, which had just departed from the nearby Base Titanium port facility loaded with minerals, stalled midway across the Indian Ocean.

This prevented ferries from moving between Mombasa Island and Likoni Mainland.

The incident happened during the peak hours of the day – as commuters travelled back home from work.

A witness said there was a loud bang before the vessel come to an abrupt stop.

"I heard a loud bang before I saw the ship stop moving," he said.

Usually, ferry movement is stopped for some time to allow ships to either enter of leave the port of Mombasa, as the channel is their only path to the port.

There was no commotion as some of the people opted to use the Liwatoni bridge.

However, the incident resulted in a traffic jam stretching nearly 2km on the roads leading to the channel on both sides.

Speaking to the Nation, motorist John Kioko said he waited for more than an hour as the problem was solved.

"I was heading to Ukunda and was here by 5pm.  I was just about to get on the next ferry when this happened. It took too long for operations to resume,” he said.

Commuter Salim Abdalla, who was heading from work at the port to his home in Likoni, also complained about a delayed solution.

Tug boats from the Kenya Ports Authority were used to direct the ship away from the channel and back to the port, to allow movement of ferries across the channel.

The ship was moved at around 6.30pm.

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