Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL) is a Tanzanian company that operates

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

, cargo ships and

tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tank ...

on three of the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in th ...

, namely Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and

Lake Nyasa Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

. It provides services to neighbouring Burundi, DR Congo,

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

and

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

History

Prior to its incorporation in 1997, MSCL was an integral part of the

Tanzania Railways Corporation The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks. When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tan ...

, which was formed in 1977 after the dissolution of the

East African Railways and Harbours Corporation The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) is a defunct company that operated railways and harbours in East Africa from 1948 to 1977. It was formed in 1948 for the new East African High Commission by merging the Kenya and Ugand ...

. On 21 May 1996, MV ''Bukoba'' capsized while travelling from

Bukoba Bukoba is a city with a population of 128,796 (2012 census), situated in the north west of Tanzania on the south western shores of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region, and the administrative seat for Bukoba Urban District. ...

to Mwanza due to overloading. At least 723 people died.

Corporate affairs

MSCL is wholly owned by the

Tanzanian Government The politics of Tanzania takes place in a framework of a unitary presidential democratic republic, whereby the President of Tanzania is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the ...

via the Treasury Registrar and operates under the auspices of the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

. Its share capital consists of 1,000 shares each with a nominal value of TSh . The company's head office is in the northern city of

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest c ...

at the shores of Lake Victoria. It maintains two branch offices in

Kigoma Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma R ...

and

Kyela Kyela is one of the seven districts of Mbeya Region, Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by Rungwe District, to the northeast by Njombe Region, to the southeast by Lake Nyasa, to the south by Malawi and to the west by Ileje District. In 2 ...

; and liaison offices in Dar es Salaam and

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Services

Passenger services on Lake Tanganyika to neighbouring countries include Mpulungu in Zambia; Bujumbura in Burundi; and

Kalemie Kalemie, formerly Albertville or Albertstad, is a town on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is next to the outflow of the Lukuga River from Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River. History From 18 ...

Uvira Uvira is a city in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uvira is a Roman Catholic diocese, a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bukavu. Geography It is located at the extreme north end of Lake Tanganyika. Kalundu is a lake p ...

and

Baraka Baraka or Barakah may refer to: * Berakhah or Baraka, in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony * Barakah or Baraka, in Islam, the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres * Baraka, full ''ḥ ...

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company also plies on Lake Nyasa between

Mbamba Bay Mbamba Bay is a town in western Tanzania, lying on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi/Lake Nyasa. Port Mbamba Bay has an indentation in the otherwise straight profile of the lake and may be a potential port. Transport In October 2007, it was ...

in southern Tanzania and

Nkhata Bay Nkhata Bay or just Nkhata is the capital of the Nkhata Bay District in Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa), east of Mzuzu, and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. The population of Nkhata Bay was 14,274 accord ...

in Malawi. Between July 2013 and April 2014, MSCL transported 231,866 passengers and 41,234 tonnes of cargo.

Fleet

Most of its fleet is located on Lake Victoria and includes MV ''Victoria'', the former

Royal Mail Ship Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel de ...

. (formerly the Imperial German Navy's SMS ''Graf von Goetzen'') was built in 1913 and still operates on Lake Tanganyika. The company's livery appears to be the same as TRC's predecessor, the

: white hull above the waterline, white superstructure and buff funnel. The hull below the waterline appears to be dark red.

Current

Future

In 2014, Transport Minister Harrison Mwakyembe informed the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

that the government's plan to purchase three new vessels from Denmark had been delayed until June 2015 because of a 163 per cent increase in costs. The acquisition will cost US$74.9 million and construction of the vessels will take three years. He also stated that discussions with the South Korean government are on-going to procure three vessels.

Accidents and incidents

* In February 2013, fire broke out on the MV ''Victoria'' whilst docked at Mwanza Port. It is believed that it was due to the

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as bra ...

works going on in one of the lower deck rooms and sparks of fire then passed on to the adjacent storage compartment. The situation was under control within two hours. The Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) blamed the management for professional negligence. * On 10 October 2014, MV ''Victoria'' experienced an engine failure midway on its journey from Bukoba to Mwanza.

Gallery

Liuli MV Iringa Tamimo.jpg, MV ''Iringa'' MV Mwongozo.jpg, MV ''Mwongozo'' MV Songea.jpg, MV ''Songea''

References

External links

* {{authority control Transport companies established in 1997 Government-owned companies of Tanzania Ferry companies of Tanzania Dry bulk shipping companies Tanker shipping companies 1997 establishments in Tanzania