Plans to retrieve MV KABALEEGA from Lake Victoria – MV KABALEEGA FERRY SHIPMENT.

Recovery teams successfully retrieved the MV Kabaleega from Lake Victoria after its long submersion. The ship sank in the early hours of 8 May 2005 after colliding with the MV Kaawa. At the time of the accident, the MV Kabalega was heading toward Port Bell in Uganda, while the Kaawa was sailing in the opposite direction toward Mwanza in Tanzania.

The Kabalega’s bow damaged the Kaawa, while the Kabalega herself suffered severe damage below the waterline. Although the MV Kaawa managed to limp back to port, the Kabalega sank just a few hours later. She now rests in 150 feet (46 m) of water, roughly 8 nautical miles (15 km) southeast of the Ssese Islands and 50 nautical miles (93 km) from the Kuye Islands.

The Kaawa struck the Kabalega’s bow, dislodging the railway wagons from the deck and sending them into the water. The collision not only tore open the Kabalega’s bow but also ruptured her #8 buoyancy tank, allowing water to pour rapidly into the #9 tank