Following an audit undertaken by the US-funded National Terrorism Centre based in Nairobi, with the US State Department's Anti-Terrorism Assistance Office playing an advisory role, the Kenyan government is urgently improving security at the port of Mombasa.

As part of the initiative, Kenya Ferry Services has installed closed circuit television cameras in all its five ferries as it seeks to improve security in its facilities.

The ferries - MV Mvita, MV Pwani, MV Nyayo, MV Kilindini and MV Harambee - which were all commissioned in 1990, operate in the Likoni Channel. Cameras have also been installed at the ferry approaches to help the management in the control of traffic.

The Internet-connected cameras were installed at a cost of $29,850 by US firm Texas Alarms.

Currently, the ferries carry 160,000 passengers and more than 3,000 vehicles each day. Annual statistics indicate that the five ferries cater for 54 million passengers and 1.1 million vehicles per year.

Once installed, the cameras will provide round-the-clock surveillance at Mombasa, which is the busiest port in east and central Africa, following its identification as a soft target for terrorist attacks.

Areas of weaknesses picked out by the audit include congestion of containers leading to poor verification and tagging, free movement of people, poor inspection and screening procedures largely due to lack of security cameras, piracy off the Somali coast and lack of a control tower to monitor ships on the high seas.

Source