Project History

In the many years of existence the K.P.A. port fire brigade firefighters
have used outdated colonial ways of tackling fires and this poses a great
risk to its firefighters if a disaster was to occur. Thus the researcher saw
the need to provide alternative solutions to assist K.P.A. to get prepared
so as to avert any calamity.
2.3 Examples of fires that have occurred:
2.3.1 Types of Fire disasters
2.3.1.1 Costa Rican Port
In 2009, a boat in the Costa Rican port of Puntarenas caught fire. Because the
facility was not in compliance with Costa Rican regulations on fire protection
equipment, personnel were unprepared for and incapable of combating the fire.
The fire spread to forty boats, which were released from their dockings and
floated along the coastline, spreading the fire to several hundred meters of land.
The Bomberos are worried that another incident of this magnitude could occur
without proper protection or preparation in these facilities. Each of these
incidents can have serious environmental impacts in addition to threatening
human safety.
https://web.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-121411181840/unrestricted/Bomberos_Final_2011
2.3.1.2 Mombasa port fires
In 1998 , a ship caught fire at the kenya ports

2.3.2 Processes of dredging that were used at the port of Mombasa

The dredging process of the port of Mombasa consisted of the following
three elements:
Excavation: this process involved the dislodgement and removal of
sediments (soils) and/or rocks from the bed of the water body.A dredger

was used to excavate the material either mechanically, hydraulically or

by combined action.
Transport of excavated material: transporting materials from the
dredged area to the site of utilisation, disposal or intermediate treatment,
was generally achieved by one of the following methods:
(a) In self-contained hoppers of the dredgers.
(b) In barges
(c) Pumping through pipelines
(d) Using natural forces such as waves and currents.
Other, rarely used transport methods were truck and conveyor belt
transport. The method of transport is generally linked to the type of
dredger being used.
Utilisation or disposal of dredged material: in construction projects,
dredging is driven by the demand for dredged material. In navigation
and remediation dredging, the project was driven by the objective of
removing the material from its original place. Thus, the question of
what to do with the removed material? arised. As a result of growing
environmental pressure, nding an answer to this question has become
increasingly difcult, especially when the material is contaminated.

2.4 Application of the dredged Mombasa port

a. Dredging to deepen or maintain navigable waterways or
channels which are threatened to become silted with the
passage of time, due to sediments sand and mud, possibly
making them too shallow for navigation. This is often carried
out with a trailing suction hopper dredge.
b. Land reclamation at berth number 19: dredging to mine
sand, clay, or rock from the seabed and using it to construct
new land elsewhere. This is typically performed by a cutter
suction dredge or trailing suction hopper dredge. The
material may also be used for flood or erosion control.

2.5 Environmental Social Impact Assessment of the dredged

Mombasa port
Positive Impacts
i

Provision of raw material for the construction of the

Mombasa to Nairobi Standard Gauge, Port Reitz
Cargo Terminal.

ii
iii
iv
v

Job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled

labourers
Expansion of national and regional economies in the
country.
Improvement of railway infrastructure.
Deepening of Mombasa port water depth.

Negative Impacts
i.
ii.
iii.

iv.
v.
vi.
vii.

There will be loss of bottom habitat, marine life,

fisheries and fishery food sources.
Possible interference with normal Port operations
such as ships docking and ferries plying passengers
along the Likoni Channel.
Turbidity of water column as a result of release of
sediments during sand harvesting and offshore
dumping. This would obstruct visibility thereby
temporarily impairing activities of fishers.
Risks of Accidents and Injuries to workers and marine vessel
collisions.
Physical disturbance and destruction of benthic habitat.
Surface noise and light affecting marine life and seabirds.
Risks associated with increased infrastructure, e.g. oil spills or
processing vessels.

2.6 Gaps to be filled in reference to the dredged Mombasa port

What about the environment? Is dredging good or bad? How do we find
out? Dredging plays a vital role in the socio-economic development and
the environmental health of many countries and regions in the world. Yet

any infrastructure or development project can have impacts on the

environment, and dredging is no exception. Effects of the dredging
process direct or indirect environmental and socio-economic effects may
be associated with any element of the dredging process excavation,
transport and disposal. The effects may be positive or negative, short
term or long term and may include, amongst
Special low-impact ( "environmental/restoration") dredgers It is
increasingly important to dredge contaminated sediments in an
environmentally acceptable manner, in particular ensuring that
contaminants are not re-mobilized and or released into the water column
where they may detrimentally affect aquatic life.
A new range of equipment has therefore been developed with the aim of
increasing precision, i.e. by reducing over dredging, and minimizing the
suspension of bed material. In some cases existing dredger types have
been modified; in other cases completely new dredgers have been
designed. Examples include the following: encapsulated bucket lines for
bucket chain dredgers; closed buckets for backhoes; closed clamshells
for grab dredgers; auger dredger, disc cutter, scoop dredger and sweep
dredger (all modified cutter dredgers).