Dodi Princess

Dodi Princess on a cruise in Dodi Island on the Lake Volta
History
Ghana
Name:	Dodi Princess
Owner:	Volta River Authority
Operator:	Volta Hotels
Port of registry:	Tema
Route:	Lake Volta
Builder:	Tema Shipyard
Laid down:	1977
Maiden voyage:	1977
In service:	36 years
Status:	In service
General characteristics
Decks:	3 passenger decks
Speed:	8.6 knots (15.9 km/h; 9.9 mph)
Capacity:	350

Dodi Princess is a cruise boat on Lake Volta in South Ghana.^[1] It is owned by the Volta River Authority and is under the management of Volta Hotels. It is the only cruise ship in Ghana.^[2]

History

The ship was built in 1977 at the Tema Shipyard and christened Grains Maid.^[1][2] The vessel was used mainly for the transportation of dry cargo and agricultural products including fertilizer. A typical voyage upstream would carry goods from Akosombo to Yeji in the Brong-Ahafo Region and Buipe in the northern part of Ghana and its downstream voyage would return with yam and grains to the southern part of the country.^[3] Grains Maid sailed on the lake from its commissioning in the late 1970s to the late 1980s when its commercial services declined due to financial constraints. After months of low patronage of its services, the vessel was abandoned at the port of Akosombo.^[3]

Conversion

In 1991, the then President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings commissioned German engineer, Hans Heins to convert the hull of the vessel to a tour pleasure boat for tourists. Staff of the Maritime Services Unit (MSU) of the Volta River Authority formed a team with Heins to complete the project which was commissioned in 1991, and renamed Dodi Princess. The vessel is the only cruise boat on Lake Volta.^[3]

Structure

The ship has three decks. The first deck (lower), is an air conditioned, strictly non-smoking cocktail bar, for guests and persons who want to enjoy a quiet cruise. The two upper decks are open aired and allow passengers to enjoy the scenery of the Lake Volta whiles being treated to live band performances from musicians.^[3] The middle deck houses a sick bay with the upper deck having a large gridiron for barbecue.^[3]

Maiden cruise

Dodi Princess made its first cruise in 1991 during the celebration of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) conference which was hosted by Ghana.^[3]

Management

The day-to-day management, of Dodi Princess upon its commissioning was done by the Marine Division of the Volta River Authority. In 2005, the Division handed over the ship's management to Volta Hotels Limited because the tour business was one the core objectives of the hotel.^[4] Dodi Princess generates 40 percent of the total revenue of Volta Hotels.^[5]

Cruise

The ship cruises Lake Volta. A typical cruise takes passengers through scenery and ends up at the Dodi Island.^[1][5]

Fire outbreak

On 4 May 2013, the ship was destroyed by fire.^[6][7] Initial assessment showed that the fire started in the kitchen in the vessel's restaurant.^[5] At the time of the fire outbreak, there was nobody on board. Damages were estimated as running into several hundreds of thousands of cedis.^[8][9]

Reconstruction

After the May 2013 destruction, Volta Hotels Limited contracted Bluefone Marine Company, a Ghanaian-based marine construction company, to reconstruct the vessel at a cost of 1.3 million dollars.^[5] Bluefone Marine proposed that the vessel would be seaworthy in six months.^[10]

References