The General Manager, Lagos Zone of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); Engineer Mauzu Sambo, has said that in its bid to reduce boat mishaps on the inland waterways to the barest minimum, the agency has issued standard safety regulation to boat operators.
Sambo who gave this explanation in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week was reacting to the call by some industry experts like the Chattered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) to ensure that safety gadgets like the speed limiter are installed on boats operating on the nation’s waterways.
He maintained that the agency has issued speed limit for service speed and when you are approaching a jetty.
Sambo reiterated that what the agency needs to do more is to ensure that the regulations are complied with, even as he added that the call to ensure compliance has necessitated the daily patrol of the waterways carried out by the agency now.
“On the safety gadgets on boats, we have standard regulations that we have issued to boat operators and you see on that list, speedometer, we have also said speed limit for service speed and for speed when you are approaching jetties, everything is there. The only thing we do is to ensure that it is complied with and that is why we have engaged on daily patrol now, we fuel our boats daily and we move on the water at the peak of the movement, early mornings and late in the evening when people are going to work”, he explained.
“And any boat we see over speeding, we stop the boat and caution the operators. We have also issued fliers to passengers educating them on safety on board and whenever they see a boat Captain over speeding, these are the number to call to inform us and we will take action. These are some of the things we are doing and we will continue to do them”, he added.
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