Trawlers are not passenger boats

There are many types of fishing vessels. Trawler is one of them. A trawler catches fish by trawling nets behind or on the sides of the trawler. Normally they operate at open sea away from navigable channels so that they do not cause hindrance to navigation. Merchant ships normally keep clear of vessels engaged in fishing.

However, if the fishing vessel happens to operate on a navigable channel then it has to make the channel clear for bigger ships. Trawlers take time to haul their nets and that is why they normally operate in open sea conditions. Vessels registered as trawlers are not expected to operate in rivers and they are not supposed to carry fare-paying passengers. Yet, we come across the news of loss of lives due to sinking of trawlers in rivers. All this is seriously confusing.

Any water transport that carries 12 or more passengers is termed a passenger vessel. If it is a large one that operates at sea, then it has to comply with the requirements of several international conventions such as Load-line, SOLAS, MARPOL, etc. If it operates only in domestic waters, such as rivers or lakes, then it has to comply with the relevant national regulations. One thing is certain that unless the vessel is registered and certified as a passenger vessel, it shall not be allowed to carry passengers.

Like the several types of fishing vessels, there are also several types of commercial ships and boats that operate in inland waters. Those could be power-driven vessels or sailing vessels. Power-driven vessels come in the shape of small ships, barges, tugs and other small cargo boats or passenger vessels. All vessels should be designed, built and operated the way they are certified. The most hazardous are those that use shallow pumps' diesel engine with an extended shaft and propeller. In such a vessel the engine cannot be reversed and it cannot be stopped as desired. Only marine diesel engines can operate in both directions - that means they can be reversed. Use of unauthorised diesel engines that were not meant for operating vessels is highly dangerous and must be stopped immediately.

Commercial boats need to be categorised according to their design, construction and mode of operation. They shall have to be duly endorsed in their certificates of registration and the survey certificates. The maritime administration (department of shipping), BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority) and the River Police should conduct frequent checks to ensure that the vessels are used for what they are certified for. Checks should prevent overloading the vessels with passengers or cargo. The capacities should be compared with documents issued to the vessels. A vessel should also have the valid certificate of survey. All these checks will reduce the number of accidents.

It is difficult to understand how in the presence of so many law-enforcement agencies, trawlers (meant for fishing at sea) operate in our inland waters and carry passengers. We come to know of these transports only when a trawler sinks and passengers die. The illegal plying of trawlers ought to be stopped before accidents take place. It is time the relevant government agencies clarified the matter.

The writer lives in London, UK. fazlu.chowdhury@btinternet.com