# MV Umoja

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**MV *Umoja*** is a [Lake Victoria ferry](/source/Lake_Victoria_ferries) in East Africa. She is a [train ferry](/source/Train_ferry) that [Marine Services Company Limited](/source/Marine_Services_Company_Limited) of [Mwanza](/source/Mwanza), Tanzania[3] operates between [Jinja](/source/Jinja,_Uganda), [Mwanza](/source/Mwanza), [Musoma](/source/Musoma) and [Kisumu](/source/Kisumu).[1] *Umoja* means "unity" in [Swahili](/source/Swahili_language). She has been involved in several accidents and is featured in a book by [Paul Theroux](/source/Paul_Theroux).

## History

*Umoja* and her [sister ship](/source/Sister_ship) [MV *Uhuru*](/source/MV_Uhuru) were built in 1965 by [Yarrow Shipbuilders](/source/Yarrow_Shipbuilders) in [Scotstoun](/source/Scotstoun), [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow), [Scotland](/source/Scotland),[1][4] and entered service in 1966.[2] At over 300 ft (91 m), they were the longest vessels on any of the East African lakes.[2]

The two vessels were owned and operated by the [East African Railways and Harbours Corporation](/source/East_African_Railways_and_Harbours_Corporation) (EARH) until 1977, when EARH was divided between Kenya, Tanzania and [Uganda](/source/Uganda). *Uhuru* was transferred to the new [Kenya Railways Corporation](/source/Kenya_Railways_Corporation)[1] and *Umoja* was transferred to the new Tanzania Railways Corporation.[4]

*Umoja* struck rocks in 1990, 1996, and 2002.[citation needed] The 2002 accident caused $160,000 worth of damage.[citation needed]

In 1997 TRC's inland shipping division became a separate company, the Marine Services Company Ltd.[5]

In his book *Dark Star Safari*, [Paul Theroux](/source/Paul_Theroux) gives an account of a journey on Lake Victoria aboard *Umoja*, detailing the hazards from out-of-date charts and emphasising the friendliness and competence of the crew.[6]

## References

1. Cameron, Stuart (2004). ["Umoja (1965)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060923230447/http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1588). *Clyde-built Database*. Archived from [the original](http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1588) on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2011-05-22.

1. Amin, Mohamed; Willetts, Duncan; Matheson, Alastair (1986). *Railway Across The Equator: The Story of the East African Line*. London: The Bodley Head. pp. 140–143. ISBN 0-370-30774-7.

1. ["MV. Umoja"](http://mscltz.com/preview_010.htm). *Vessels*. Marine Services Company Limited. Retrieved 25 June 2011.

1. Cameron, Stuart (2004). ["Uhuru (1965)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060923231518/http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1589). *Clyde-built Database*. Archived from [the original](http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1589) on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2011-05-17.

1. ["Home"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110910031156/http://www.mscltz.com/). Marine Services Company Limited. Archived from [the original](http://mscltz.com/) on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.

1. Theroux, Paul (2003). *Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town*. Boston: [Houghton Mifflin](/source/Houghton_Mifflin_Harcourt). pp. not cited. ISBN 0-618-13424-7.

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