By Roland Ekama, Lagos
The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM), has expressed concerns over lack of adequate capacity by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in the enforcement and regulations of barge operations and safety of passengers along the waterways.
The body of professional seafarers further called on NIWA to redouble its efforts in ensuring strict enforcement on tugboat personnel in the carriage of cargoes onboard barges in line with safety rules and regulations.
President of NAMM, Captain Tajudeen Alao , while reacting against the backdrop on the upsurge of barge operations and poor managerial safety mechanism in Lagos, called on the inland waterways authority to review and cross examine activities of tugboat operators in conformity to international best practices and safety of cargoes.
He added that there is a large number of persons with fake certificates without the requisite knowledge of the profession , calling on the apex regulatory agency responsible for the scrutiny to swing into action.
Captain Alao who queried the level of NIWA’s scope of responsibilities on fenders attached to jetties, noted that the authority has failed to tackle issues of safety on the inland waterways effectively due to lack of manpower .
He lamented that the operational fenders in use currently ,are outdated and NIWA must not pretend to be unaware of the situation.
”Our concern is about safety of cargoes and passengers ,security and environmental protection on the waterways. This is what we are preaching. We want to know why things of this nature are not tackled.
“If you go and read NIWA’s act you will find out that NIWA has so much responsibilities but they are not competent.
” They have not built adequate capacity. They need to build pre requisite capacity to cover the scope of their responsibility’s .
The NAMM President further kicked against NIWA involvement in the scrutiny of certification for mariners noting that the Nigeria Maritime Administration , Safety Agency (NIMASA) should be the sole authority to review certification of personnel.
“There is only one ship registry in Nigeria which is domicile in NIMASA through the Ministry of Transportation thus how can NIWA say they want to register ships?
The NAMM boss noted that safety measures must be paramount before considering the commercial viability of cargoes and passengers for the sake of revenue generation for the government.
According to him , the agency can only issue permit to personnel and not to be seen on the registration of any form of water crafts operating in Nigerian waters to ascertain seaworthiness.
Harping on the need to be safety conscious in the line of duty , Captain Alao called on the barge operators to ensure that their employee (Captains) are qualified personnel who understand the importance of safety while manning water craft adding that shipping business has no place for quacks.
According to him , the Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Marine Police all have major roles to play in the enforcement of barge operations due to NIWA’s ineptitude.
He also called on state government across the country to establish a marine department to assist in the area of water transportation safety .
