View source for Sinking of MV Spice Islander I

{{Short description|Maritime disaster in Tanzania}}
{{For|the 2012 disaster|MV Skagit}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Sinking of MV ''Spice Islander I''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox event
| title = Sinking of MV ''Spice Islander I''
| image = [[File:Spice Islander.jpg|300px]]
| caption = MV ''Spice Islander I'' anchored in Zanzibar in 2010
| date = {{start date|2011|09|10}}
| time = {{circa}} 9:00 PM
| timezone = [[East Africa Time|EAT]]
| duration = {{circa}} 4 hours
| Location = [[Zanzibar Channel]], [[Indian Ocean]]
| type = [[Capsizing]]
| cause = Overloading
| organizers = 
| participants = At least 800 on board
| reported deaths = Between 200 and 1,500+
| notes = Exact figures regarding the number of participants involved and their outcomes are unclear, with various conflicting reports on the numbers.
}}
<!-- Per MOS:BOLDTITLE and WP:SBE, neither the article's title nor related text appears in bold. -->

On 10 September 2011, {{MV|Spice Islander I}}, a [[passenger ferry]], reportedly carrying over 2,000 passengers, sank off the coast of [[Zanzibar]]. The ferry was travelling between [[Unguja]] and [[Pemba Island|Pemba]], two islands off the coast of mainland [[Tanzania]], when it capsized. Early estimates put the death toll at around 200, but a report published by the Tanzanian government in January 2012 claimed that over 1,500 people had been killed.

==Incident==
[[File:US Navy 070926-N-0000X-003 Guided-missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) tows Tanzanian-flagged passenger ferry Spice Island while in international waters off the coast of Somalia.jpg|thumb|left|200px|{{MV|Spice Islander I}}, the ship involved in the accident]]
At 21:00 [[UTC+2|local time]] (19:00 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]), MV&nbsp;''Spice Islander&nbsp;I'' sailed from [[Unguja]], the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago, for [[Pemba Island]] to the north. The ship's official capacity was 45 crew and 645 passengers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/marianna_1967.htm |title=M/S Marianna (1967) |publisher=Fakta om Fartyg |language=Swedish |accessdate=23 March 2013}}</ref> but it was reported to be heavily overloaded.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14864400 |title=Zanzibar ferry disaster: Scores die, many more missing |work=BBC News |date=10 September 2011}}</ref> Around four hours after departure, ''Spice Islander&nbsp;I'' sank between Zanzibar and Pemba.<ref name="smh"/> The ship is thought to have capsized after losing engine power.<ref name="BBC"/> Of those on board, around 620 were rescued,<ref name="BBC"/> with at least 40 of them suffering serious injuries.<ref name="smh">{{cite news |url=http://m.smh.com.au/world/tanzania-ferry-sinking-leaves-120-people-dead-20110910-1k377.html |title=Tanzania ferry sinking leaves 120 people dead |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=10 September 2011}}</ref> In addition to passengers, the ferry was believed to have been transporting cargo such as rice.<ref name="smh"/>

===Death toll===
[[File:Map of Zanzibar Archipelago-en.svg|thumb|upright|Map showing [[Zanzibar Archipelago]], the location of the disaster]]
Early news reports claimed that the ferry was carrying an estimated 800 people at the time of her sinking,<ref name="BBC"/> and by 12 September, it was reported that over 240 bodies had been recovered.<ref name="Xinhua">{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Yamei |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/12/c_131133707.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108143033/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/12/c_131133707.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 November 2012 |title=At least 240 bodies retrieved in ferry sinking in Tanzania |agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=12 September 2011}}</ref> However, on 14 October, the Tanzanian government confirmed that the vessel had in fact been carrying around 3,586 passengers, of whom 2,764 were unaccounted for.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sadallah |first=Mwinyi |url=http://ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=34437 |title=Confirmed: 2,900 people died in Zanzibar's ferry tragedy  |date=16 October 2011}}</ref> In an investigative report published on 19 January 2012, these figures were revised downward, with 2,470 passengers, 203 confirmed dead, and 1,370 missing.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sadallah |first=Mwinyi |url=http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=37649 |title=MV Spice Islander's report: Try marine executives, ship owner  |date=20 January 2012}}</ref>

== Response ==
The [[Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar]] set up a center for people involved in the tragedy and called upon reserves from Zanzibar to join the effort. It also called for foreign support from African countries. The survivors were rescued by ferries and brought back to Zanzibar's main harbour, in [[Stone Town]].<ref name="BBC"/>

On 11 September, three days of mourning began for those who died in the incident.<ref name="tele"/> An investigation into the sinking was also announced; the Zanzibar minister of state, [[Mohamed Aboud Mohamed]] said: "The government will take stern measures against those found responsible for this tragedy, in accordance with the country's laws and regulations."<ref name="tele">{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tanzania/8756112/No-one-will-be-spared-after-Zanzibar-ferry-disaster.html | title='No one will be spared' after Zanzibar ferry disaster | work=The Telegraph | date=11 September 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915203016/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tanzania/8756112/No-one-will-be-spared-after-Zanzibar-ferry-disaster.html | archive-date=15 September 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Eight months later, the {{MV|Skagit}}, another ferry, between Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, also sank, also with large loss of life.

==See also==
{{Portal|Tanzania|Transport}}
* [[List of shipwrecks in 2011]]
* {{MV|Bukoba}}, a Tanzanian ferry which sank in 1996, also with great loss of life
* [[Likoni Ferry]], which suffered a similar disaster in 1994, in nearby Mombasa

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{2011 shipwrecks}}
{{coord|5|39|36|S|39|19|12|E|region:TZ-07_type:event_source:kolossus-nowiki|display=title}}

[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2011]]
[[Category:2011 in Tanzania]]
[[Category:History of Zanzibar]]
[[Category:Pemba Island]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in Tanzania]]
[[Category:September 2011 events in Africa]]
[[Category:2011 disasters in Africa]]

[[sv:M/S Spice Islander]]