DRYING PORTS HINDERING WATER TRANSPORT – Malawi News Online

The drying up of Chipoka port in Salima and Chilumba port in Karonga Salima and Karonga, will be a hindrance to water transport, as admitted by Ministry of Transport and Public Works.

Speaking with The Nation newspaper, Minister of Transport  Ralph Jooma said that government is working to find ways to revive the two ports. Also on the other hand government, through the National Transport Master Plan, is planning strategies to focus on other transport means other than road, water and rail transport.

In mid June, Malawi Shipping Company announced that is has withdrawn MV Ilala from Lake Malawi waters for routine maintenance. MV Ilala, formally Ilala II, is a motor ship that has plied Lake Malawi in East Africa since 1951. She is operated by Malawi Lake Services and based in Monkey Bay, Malawi (on the southern end of the lake); every week she crosses the lake all the way north to Chilumba, Malawi, near Tanzania (about 300 miles (480 km) from Monkey Bay) and then returns to Monkey Bay.

Company spokesperson Thomas Chafunya told Zodiak Radio that MV Chilembwe will replace MV Ilala, to keep operations functional as normal. The MV Chilembwe is a passenger ship operating on Lake Malawi, named after Malawian freedom fighter John Chilembwe. It was launched in 2014 to partly replace the over 60 years old MV Ilala.