New Cargo Ship for Lake Tanganyika Launched In Burundi

At 12,700 square miles (32,890 sq km) in area, Lake Tanganyika is the second largest in Africa. It is larger than North America’s Lake Eire (9,910 sq. mi.) and over half the size of Lake Michigan (22,300 sq.mi.). Ships have operated on it since before the First World War when Germany and Britain had some minor naval battles there. This past August a new ship, the M/V Teza, began working the waters of the great lake. Built entirely in Burundi by the Batralac firm, under the management of Basil Demeris the vessel will be operated on the lake by the same company. Designed by the Greek company of Chris Simopoulos & Associates, the 60 by 11-metre ship is powered by a pair of Cummins KT19 marine diesels rated 425 HP each at 1800 RPM. The mains turn into Twin Disc MG516 gears with ratios of 4.52:1 and turning 1450-m/m diameter propellers. Electrical needs are met by a pair of 37 Kw Moëës CUST370-4M generators powered by Cummins 4B engines. With a moulded depth of 4.5 metres, the hull is formed from steel with varying thicknesses of 6 to 12 m/m.

The ship will work with a crew of 16 and can carry 1500 tonnes of cargo or 40 twenty foot containers. Tankage is provided for 77,000 litres of fuel. The boat will cruise the lake’s 420 mile (680 km) length at 11 knots. Bia Export Division consolidated the orders for the Cummins engines, Moëës gensets, Twin Disc gears, Nelson exhaust, Exalto accessories, Atlas Copco compressor, Ecco sanding machine, PPM crane and other components. The main engines, marine gears and gensets were installed by METALUBIA under the supervision of Pierre France.