AfricaContainersOperations

MSC settles with Mogadishu over internet outage

A ship that switched the internet off for the whole of Somalia faces a large bill from Mogadishu.

The feeder boxship MSC Alice had been detained off the Somali capital since June 24 after it reportedly dragged its anchor severing a fibre optic line that delivered internet coverage for almost all of the East African nation.

The government in Somalia has said it might take until July 25 to fix the cable and has been demanding damages of $10m a day from the ship’s owner.

“The container ship MSC Alice is seaworthy in all respects and departed Mogadishu on 15 July. The vessel, built in 2003, will now continue to operate a dedicated feeder service in the Red Sea,” a spokesperson for MSC told Splash. The spokesperson for the liner company said MSC had “reached an agreement” with the government to get the ship released.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.

Comments

  1. I’m confused. The link under the name MSC Alice, says that she was built in 1988 and is 40,000t+. The article says built 2003 and is a feeder box boat. Hell of a big feeder box boat. :-O

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