Fisheries Principal Secretary Micheni Ntiba at a past event. [Photo/ businessdailyafrica.com]
Kenya has bought a Sh3.5 billion sea patrol vessel as the Fisheries department moves to curb illegal fishing at the Indian Ocean.
Asian shipbuilder Western Marine Shipyard (WMS) handed over the offshore patrol vessel known branded MV Doria to the Ministry of Fisheries, Livestock and Agriculture at its facilities in Bangladesh.The ship will sail to Kenya at the end of August.“The ship will ensure security at the maritime boundary of Kenyan coastal boundary and will be fully manned by civilian crew who has already been recruited,” Fisheries Principal Secretary Micheni Ntiba said.Foreign trawlers and ships continue to operate along Kenya’s 200 nautical miles Economic Exclusive Zone. The unlawful fishing robs the country off Sh10 billion annually.The 54-metre long vessel will operate over a range of more than 1,500 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean off the East African coast.Denmark’s JGH Marine ordered the vessel on Kenya’s behalf in 2014.The vessel was wholly designed and developed by Icarus Marine in Cape Town South Africa.