Tanzania Launches Marine Safety Drive to Cut Fishing Fatalities in Zanzibar
Tanzania · ECONOMY
Key Facts
—Surveillance upgrade: Zanzibar will introduce radar and marine vessel tracking systems to improve safety for fishing and transport in the Indian Ocean.
—Illegal landing points: Authorities are addressing about 380 illegal harbours and landing points used for boarding passengers and cargo, which undermine safety rules.
—Fisheries weight: The sector is 95 percent artisanal, contributed about 4.5 percent of Zanzibar’s gross domestic product in 2022, and supports roughly a third of the population.
—Casualty legacy: Zanzibar’s deadliest ferry disasters — the MV Spice Islander I in 2011 and the MV Skagit in 2012 — together killed hundreds and remain among the region’s worst maritime tragedies.
—Donor backing: Japan and the United Nations Development Programme handed over speedboats and training in April 2024, supporting more than 250 small-scale fishermen and over 1,200 artisan fishermen and women.
—Legal foundation: The Zanzibar Maritime Authority operates under Act No. 3 of 2009 and administers the Maritime Transport Act No. 5 of 2006.
Zanzibar’s deadliest ferry disasters — the MV Spice Islander I in 2011 and the MV Skagit in 2012 — together killed hundreds and remain among the region’s worst maritime tragedies.
What the marine safety drive includes
Zanzibar’s maritime authorities confirmed they will introduce surveillance radar and marine vessel tracking systems to tighten oversight of fishing and transport across the Indian Ocean archipelago. The push also targets stricter registration, licensing, inspection, and crew qualification requirements for all marine vessels.
Officials say about 380 illegal harbours and landing points used for boarding and disembarking passengers and cargo are being addressed because they bypass safety rules. The Zanzibar Maritime Authority, established under Act No. 3 of 2009, administers maritime transport law under the earlier Maritime Transport Act No. 5 of 2006.
A 2013 amendment already set an age limit of 15 years for passenger vessel registration and restricted certain vessel modifications. The Zanzibar National Plan of Action on drowning prevention, covering 2024 to 2028, calls for safer boating rules, rescue teams, life-saving training, and early-warning systems.
Why fishing safety is an economic question
Zanzibar’s fisheries sector is 95 percent artisanal and contributed about 4.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2022, according to the Zanzibar State of the Coast report. The same report says the sector provides direct and indirect employment to about 11 percent of the workforce and supports roughly a third of the population through the fisheries and aquaculture value chain.
A 2020 frame survey counted 50,218 fishers across the islands. With sea transport and marine livelihoods so central to the economy, every accident carries a direct cost in lost income, damaged assets, and eroded investor confidence in the archipelago’s blue economy.
A Zanzibar meteorological study notes that marine accidents are embedded in the island’s disaster-management framework. Authorities already require boats to check weather and marine forecasts before departure, a rule that proved fatal to ignore when rough weather near Nungwi Bay caused a ferry accident after the Tanzania Meteorological Agency had warned of winds above 40 kilometres per hour and waves higher than two metres.
The casualty record driving urgency
Zanzibar carries one of the heaviest maritime-fatality legacies in East Africa.Zanzibar’s deadliest ferry disasters — the MV Spice Islander I in 2011 and the MV Skagit in 2012 — together killed hundreds and remain among the region’s worst maritime tragedies.
The 2011 ferry sinking off Zanzibar was among the worst, prompting the United Nations maritime agency chief to offer assistance in investigating the cause and preventing future accidents. Subsequent incidents, including the Nungwi Bay tragedy, reinforced the pattern of vessels operating in dangerous conditions without adequate oversight.
The drowning prevention action plan now frames safer boating as a public-health and economic necessity, not merely a transport issue. It links accident prevention directly to the survival of households that depend on small-scale fishing.
Who is building Zanzibar’s maritime capacity
The safety overhaul is not a purely domestic effort. Tanzania has been working with the United Nations Development Programme and Japan on a five-year project to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and broader maritime crime.
An April 2024 handover included speedboats, maintenance training, and support for more than 250 small-scale fishermen and over 1,200 artisan fishermen and women. The International Maritime Organization has also been involved, running a national workshop in Dar es Salaam in August 2026 to operationalise a National Maritime Information Sharing Centre.
European Union funding adds another layer. A north-eastern Unguja stakeholder platform operates under a project funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for €11.4 million. This creates a dense mix of Japanese, European, and United Nations capacity-building in a domain that also serves counter-smuggling and wider Indian Ocean security goals.
The great-power and regional read-through
The marine safety drive extends state reach into an informal maritime space that has long operated beyond official control. Mapping illegal landing sites, tracking vessels, and enforcing registration turns a safety programme into an exercise in sovereignty over a strategically important Indian Ocean corridor linking East Africa, the Gulf, and Asia.
Japan, the European Union, United Nations agencies, and the International Maritime Organization are all building capacity in a domain where safety, counter-smuggling, and anti-illegal-fishing interests converge. For Tanzania, the prize is a formalised blue economy that can attract investment in tourism, ferry transport, and seafood exports.
The pattern mirrors what is unfolding across other Indian Ocean littoral states, where external partners compete and cooperate to shape maritime governance. Readers following this dynamic can find deeper context in our pillar Africa: The New Scramble.
What to watch next
The immediate test is whether the surveillance radar and vessel tracking systems translate into fewer accidents during the next monsoon season, when rough seas historically drive up fatalities. Enforcement against the 380 illegal landing points will be a visible measure of political will.
The August 2026 International Maritime Organization workshop in Dar es Salaam on the National Maritime Information Sharing Centre marks the next institutional milestone. Success there would give Tanzania a permanent hub for coordinating the maritime security and safety data that the new tracking systems will generate.
For investors and regional diplomats, the broader question is whether safer, better-governed waters unlock the blue-economy potential that Zanzibar’s planners have long promised. The answer will be written in registration numbers, accident statistics, and the speed with which informal landing points give way to regulated ports.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tanzania doing to improve marine safety in Zanzibar?
Tanzania is introducing surveillance radar and vessel tracking systems, tightening vessel registration and crew qualification rules, and addressing about 380 illegal harbours and landing points.
How many people have died in marine accidents in Zanzibar?
Zanzibar’s deadliest ferry disasters — the MV Spice Islander I in 2011 and the MV Skagit in 2012 — together killed hundreds and remain among the region’s worst maritime tragedies.
Which international partners are supporting Tanzania’s maritime safety efforts?
Japan, the United Nations Development Programme, the European Union, and the International Maritime Organization are all providing funding, equipment, training, or institutional support.
Connected Coverage
For deeper analysis of how external powers are competing and cooperating to shape maritime governance across the Indian Ocean littoral, read our pillar Africa: The New Scramble.
Sources
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