Often poorly supervised, inland waterways are used for a wide range of traffic, while non-compliant passenger ferries expose their users to tragic accidents. To maintain a high general level of safety in this sector, a workshop on the safety of inland waterways and passenger ferries in West and Central Africa opened in Libreville.
Captain Dieudonné Loïc Ndinga Moudouma speaking on July 15, 2024
Waterway safety has been at the heart of debates in Libreville since July 15. To address the vulnerabilities of this sector, the Gabonese Ministry of Transport, with the support of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Maritime Organization for West and Central Africa (Omaoc), the International Maritime Rescue Federation (FISM), the African Union (AU) and the African Development Bank (ADB), is organizing a regional workshop on « The safety of inland waterways and passenger ferries in West and Central Africa ».
Poorly supervised, waterways are, so to speak, sometimes exploited by international criminal networks, while non-compliant ferries expose users to tragic accidents. This undermines the efforts made to ensure the safety and security of maritime traffic, and makes it necessary to maintain a high general level of safety in this sector. « The commitments we have made by ratifying several international conventions in this field have enabled us to work towards preserving human lives at sea and securing our various waterways », declared the Prime Minister of the Transition, opening the workshop on July 15.
Filling the void created by the absence of clear legislation
« Raymond Ndong Sima added: « The tragedy our country experienced in March 2023, which is the most serious in the recent history of passenger transport in our country, has called into question many of the foundations of the exercise and practice of passenger transport navigation and rescue conditions in the event of an accident. While he asserted that this tragedy had prompted reflection on the role and operation of the administrations involved on the water, and on the need to speed up both the legal and institutional aspects of setting up a maritime rescue and surveillance center, the Minister of Transport called for « capitalizing on these exchanges ».
« It’s better to wake up the captain nine times for nothing than once too late », declared Dieudonné Loïc Ndinga Moudouma, underlining that « this workshop is very important for us to review security standards together ». « It’s high time we got down to work, so as to improve our texts and bodies », added the ship’s captain, noting that it is specifically a question of examining and identifying the key elements to be put in place in the various ship and ferry safety systems, as well as formulating guidelines for their future development. The aim is « to fill the gap created by the absence of clear legislation in this field ».
Source: Gabon Review
