Kenya-based Southern Engineering Company (SECO) has completed the country’s first locally built vessel – the Alpha 2500, a 2500-deadweight tonnage (dwt) flat-bottomed barge.
"This vessel is the first to be designed and built in Kenya under the internationally recognised classification standards font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS),” SECO technical manager, Jayesh Mehta, was quoted by the Standard Digital Kenya online news site as saying.
The Alpha 2500 will be deployed for transportation of heavy machinery and marine cargo along the East African coast. It will initially be used in the construction of Lamu Port, reports the Maritime Executive.
“80 Kenyans were involved in the six-month construction process,” said John Msafari, SECO’s director in charge of administration. Msafari sees the delivery as a milestone in Kenya’s quest to establish a shipbuilding and marine service hub at the port of Mombasa
