In the bid to reduce the incidence of ferry accidents, the management of Metro Ferry Services on yesterday said it would hold a one-day safety campaign in Ikorodu.
Mr Idibun Oladimeji, the company Safety Manager, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Ikorodu near Lagos.
He said the campaign, to be tagged “Onshore and Offshore Safety Awareness Seminar”, became necessary following frequent boat mishaps in Lagos.
“The exercise will hold on Saturday.
In the bid to reduce the incidence of ferry accidents, the management of Metro Ferry Services on yesterday said it would hold a one-day safety campaign in Ikorodu.
Mr Idibun Oladimeji, the company Safety Manager, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Ikorodu near Lagos.
He said the campaign, to be tagged “Onshore and Offshore Safety Awareness Seminar”, became necessary following frequent boat mishaps in Lagos.
“The exercise will hold on Saturday.
“It is meant to educate customers on appropriate safety measures to observe in order to prevent any incident, and steps to take if they occur.
“Many commuters are unaware of what to do when such crises occur on the waterways.
“For instance, some refuse to wear the safety jackets with the expression that ‘I have been using life jackets before you were born’,” he said.
Ibidun said many passengers still had phobia for water transportation.
He said that the drill would help boost their confidence level as water is safer, faster, and more convenient.
Ibidun said that the exercise, which would be the first to be made public by the company, would involve both theory and practical.
“It will feature the use of safety jackets, life buoy and fire extinguisher,” he said.
At least 26 persons have lost their lives in separate boat mishaps in FESTAC Town, Ikorodu and Lagos Island in 2014 alone.
The most recent occurred on Monday, June 16, 2014 when at least one person drowned and nine others rescued as a passenger boat capsized between Ojo and Tin Can Island, Apapa Local Government Area in Lagos.
An eyewitness explained that all passengers on board the ill fated boat wore life jackets. But immediately the boat capsized, one of the passengers, a male, drowned and his life jacket immediately floated.
He noted that they could not determine the cause of the incident, saying the boat was certified okay before leaving the Tin Can jetty.
Confirming the mishap, Information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said the identity of the missing person was yet to be known, adding: “The body of the missing person is yet to be recovered. But I can assure you that we are still searching for it.”
On the cause of the mishap, Farinloye explained: “From my interview with the survivors, waves from four bigger boats that passed beside the boat at that time caused it to lose balance, and the passengers began to panic. This further caused the boat to capsize.”
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