The maritime safety week is being observed from May 04 with the slogan - We build the country following the law and by increasing public awareness and creating a maritime-safe Bangladesh. The week is expected to raise awareness among all stakeholders about taking safety measures as Baishakh, a traditional month of storms and tornadoes, has already set in. Just a day before the week began last Saturday, a motor launch carrying 40 passengers sank in the River Kalagachia in southern Patuakhali district as a fierce storm lashed the area. Of the passengers, 20 swam to safety, while eight were found dead and the rest were missing.
Rivers and the Bay of Bengal are undoubtedly playing a key role in culture and tradition of the country. The lion's share of trade and transportation of passengers are still water-borne. That is why this year's slogan that has highlighted increase in public awareness to create a maritime-safe Bangladesh is timely.
Bangladesh is observing the week at the right time. The week will see intensified campaigns for safer journey in rivers at a time when stringent regulations have already drastically reduced accident rates in the recent years. The country witnessed a total of 56 accidents which claimed over 500 lives in six years from 2003 to 2009 while only seven accidents were recorded in the past four years when 258 lives were lost, according to official data.
Under a campaign, hundreds of unauthorised vessels have already been brought under registration coverage. Their safety standards have been updated while strict monitoring is being enforced for the riverine safety-yielding positive outcome. More has to be done in this regard. River mishaps have mainly been attributed to collisions, overloading of passengers and running vessels by unauthorised masters or staff.
In most cases, major accidents, however, are caused by collisions of passenger vessels with nearly submerged unauthorised cargo vessels at night time. Efforts must be made to bring under registration some 50,000 such cargo vessels which ply without any lawful authority. Intensified security steps should be taken to intensify security patrols in the rivers. It is an appropriate time for the government to introduce marine guards like railway police or industrial police to ensure further safety in river routes. More high-capacity salvage vessels are also needed. The relatively light-weight Rustam and Hamza appear inadequate for rescue operations.
The country had seen the deadly launch accident in the Meghna on February 08, 2013 claiming at least 100 lives. As has been reported in the media, the launch capsized in Gazaria upazila of Munshiganj in the morning of February 08 after being hit by a sand-laden bulkhead. Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, while visiting the site of the deadly launch accident, admitted that staff shortage is crippling the shipping department's monitoring work. He said, currently, around 35,000 registered and unregistered vessels ply rivers across the country. Under the provisions of an ordinance of the shipping department, passenger vessels should keep as many life jackets as passengers and at least one lifebuoy for every four passengers. But this provision has never been implemented. Thus the riverine transport sector continues to remain chaotic because of the mismanagement and utter failure of the authorities.
It is time to consider the issues of navigability, fitness of vessels, robbery and extortion with greater importance. There is also the pertinent need for enhanced coordination among the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, the Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners' Association and the Water Transport Workers' Federation for safety in water transportation sector.
What is really distressing is that passengers themselves are largely responsible for many accidents as they overcrowd the vessels, endangering their own lives. There are inadequate infrastructures at local terminals. Women ferry and launch passengers are exposed to serious difficulties in boarding and alighting from the vessels in rural side-terminals.
Bangladesh, crisscrossed by rivers, has seen reduced waterways in the past decades. But still the waterway is a major route for cheap transportation. Thousands of ferries, boats, motor launches and ships ply in the rivers carrying passengers and cargoes daily. The government should, therefore, launch a vigorous campaign to restore navigability of the waterways.
Over the years, various probe committees recommended strict monitoring to stop plying of unfit launches, increasing the number of ship surveyors and inspectors and bringing all the inland vessels under marine insurance. But unfortunately such recommendations still remain in paper only. There must be arrangement for formal training for drivers. The stakeholders have to implement those for marine safety. A realistic action plan needs to be framed and implemented as early as possible.
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Ensuring riverine safety
Rahman Jahangir | Published: May 06, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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