Worried about the reckless abandonment of vessels on the shoreline, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has disclosed plans to engage Swiss and UK Marine firms in the removal of wrecks to ease navigation of crafts.
Managing Director of NIWA ,Dr. George Moghalu who dropped the hint on Wednesday , in Lagos at a meeting with operators in the maritime sub sector, affirmed that the foreign organisations would remove the abandoned wrecks from the waterways and will pay the Federal Government of Nigeria to that effect.
According to Moghalu who also declined to mention the names of the European based marine companies , affirmed that if the agreement is sealed, the government and other relevant stakeholders will benefit from the evacuation of wrecks from the waterways.
He reiterated that wreck removal is expensive to remove from the waters but added that the foreign firms would do justice to ensure that abandoned vessels are evacuated with payment made to Nigeria.
He noted that the companies have indicated interest and are willing to enter agreement with the agency to remove critical wrecks.
The MD explained that the companies would convert the wrecks to wealth, in furtherance to decongest the waterways for safe navigation .
Expressing concerns over the recent incessant boats mishap across the country, Moghalu stated that management has resolved to change the narrative to avert further mishaps in the country.
He said the marine accidents are attributed to the none compliance by the operators or passengers flouting safety regulations, which include failure to wear lifejackets, lack of vessels certification , unqualified boat Captain , over speeding and using of the right boats for wrong purposes.
The NIWA boss maintained that NIWA had put in place safety protocols safeguard navigation of ships, pointing out that the agency would no longer tolerate such violation but operators.
Speaking on the next line of action to curb further occurrences, Moghalu affirmed that there will be recertification of boats and that of the captains.
He warned that NIWA officals would go all out to impound vessels that are not seaworthy or uncertified.
“We are going to set out a regime of random checks and don’t be surprise that our policemen will be present on waters chasing and stopping defaulters.
“They will be impounding vessels that fail to meet up with those requirements because we can’t allow such to happen again because we can’t afford to continue to loss lives.
He warned sand dredgers and loggers to desist from any form of night operations , saying the agency will not tolerate infringement from the operators.
By Roland Ekama
