The Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA) confirmed it has secured the cargo ship MV Piraeus Voy in Mombasa heading to Tanzania carrying harmful radioactive.
The cargo on board the MV Piraeus Voy was detained after Kenya’s Health ministry raised the alarm that it was carrying radioactive material disguised as padlocks and other hardware items.
Officials investigating the matter said the ship sailed to Kenya from Mumbai, India, and was en route to Tanzania.
Kenyan media reported that material carried by the ship could endanger the health of millions of people in the region.
The Tanzania government said it was unaware of the detained ship on its way to Tanzania.
Officials investigating the matter said the ship sailed to Kenya from Mumbai, India, and was en route to Tanzania.
“This is clearly a means of dumping dangerous substances in East Africa. We have proof that what was declared is just part of the contents, but the radioactive material is also in the ship, and is emitting high radiation,” a source involved in an ongoing investigation said on condition of anonymity.
Exposure to high levels of radiation from nuclear waste can cause severe health effects such as skin burns and acute radiation syndrome (radiation sickness), cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The ship’s tracking site shows that the ship has been to Kenya, Oman, India and Pakistan in the past one month and was in Mumbai on December 2.
KNRA director general Joseph Maina said “We are in the process of deciding whether to collect samples to determine the actual substance after realising there is radioactive materials on board or return the cargo to sender.
“We have taken all measures as we work with other agencies to ensure the public is not exposed,” he said.
“We have not received any information about the ship, but I will get in touch with the relevant authorities for any details on the matter,” the permanent secretary in charge of transport in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Gabriel Migire, told The Citizen.
Migire added that any ship coming to Tanzania was required to fly the Tanzania flag.
The Kenyan government said it would compel all those on board to answer any question asked as per sections 60 and 62 of the Public Health Act.