Kenya Navy Special Boat Unit team rescues a crew of seven from a capsizing boat

LAMU, Kenya, Jul 19 – Seven crew members aboard a vessel destined for Kismayo in Somalia were on Monday evening rescued in the Indian Ocean after their boat experienced engine failure.

According to the Kenya Navy, the vessel had left the port of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with the seven crew members and hours into its voyage started experiencing technical difficulties.

The crew of seven consisted of one Indian and six Tanzanians, aboard the MV Ferooz.

The Special Boat Unit (SBU) team leader Lieutenant (Lt) Eric Irungu confirmed that he received a signal from Kenya Navy Ship (KNS) Jasiri to attend to a distress call from MV Ferooz.

“We responded immediately and found the boat flooding and the engine was off. We immediately embarked on saving the crew before the boat capsized,” said Lt Irungu.

The vessel’s captain Muhamud Salim, told the Kenya Navy that they were en route to Kismayo to buy scrap metals.

Cases of boats or fishing vessels being stranded in the deep waters of the Indian Ocean have been reported in recent years in by Kenyan Authorities including the Coast Guard and the Kenya Navy.

“We developed technical complications after our water pump failed and water started flooding the boat’s main engine shutting it down. Realizing that we were taking in more water than we could draw out, we placed a distress call and Kenya Navy immediately came to our rescue,” the vessel’s Chief Engineer Swaleh Lamazani.

“I am grateful to Kenya Navy for their quick response and their efforts to save our lives,” the boat Captain said.

The crew has since been handed over to the Lamu Port Police Station for further processing.