MV Le Joola

Ferry Le Joola at Ziguinchor, Senegal in 1991
History
Republic Of Senegal
Name	Le Joola
Owner	Republique Senegal, Ministere de l'Equipement, Dakar / Senegal
Operator	Armed Forces of Senegal
Port of registry	Senegal
Route	Dakar to Casamance
Builder	Schiffswerft Germersheim (Germany)
Launched	22 March 1990
Completed	12 November 1990
Out of service	13 September 2001 – 10 September 2002 Mechanical damage repair and replacement of the port side engine
Identification	IMO number: 9019901 Callsign: 6VYZ
Fate	Capsized and sunk in rough seas 26 September 2002
Notes	The ship was overloaded with an estimated 1,863 aboard at the time of disaster.
General characteristics
Class and type	Roll-on/roll-off ferry
Tonnage	2,087 GT
Length	79.5 m (260 ft 10 in)
Beam	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draft	3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Capacity	536 passengers 35 cars
Crew	44

MV Le Joola was a Senegalese government-owned roll-on/roll-off ferry that capsized off the coast of The Gambia on 26 September 2002,^[1] with 1,863 deaths and 64 survivors. It is thought to be the second-worst peacetime disaster in maritime history.

The ship was plying the route from Ziguinchor in the Casamance region to the Senegalese capital, Dakar, when it ran into a violent storm, farther out to sea than it was licensed to travel. The estimated 2,000 passengers aboard (about half of whom lacked tickets) would have amounted to nearly four times the ship's design load. The large numbers sleeping on-deck (and thus above its center of buoyancy) added further instability. Rescue operations did not start for several hours.

A government inquiry principally blamed negligence, and accusations were directed at both the Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade and premier Mame Madior Boye.