The Minister of Transport, Merchant Navy and the Sea, Loïc Dieudonné Moudouma Ndinga, closed this Wednesday the regional workshop on “The safety of inland waterways and passenger ferries in West and Central Africa”. Some twenty key recommendations were adopted at the end of this work, each highlighting the collective duty of the maritime community in the sub-region to give priority to the safety of inland waterways and passenger ferries.
Participants recommended, in particular, ensuring the application of safety culture by public entities and private operators; implementing a comprehensive plan to strengthen the safety of inland navigation in the sub-region; encouraging Member States to implement digital passenger identification and the digital ferry register; as well as the establishment of a digital system for collecting, managing and reporting the occurrence of incidents.
Some other important recommendations include ensuring compliance with the ship maintenance plan in relation to the year of construction; strengthening the waterway monitoring mechanism and ensuring the application of regulations applicable to ships engaged in internal voyages; as well as adopting and implementing the Libreville Plan to improve the operational safety of domestic ferries, etc.
The participants did not lose sight of the fact that the work in Libreville is a consequence of the incessant loss of human life and property caused by ferry accidents in the sub-region and in particular the accident of the Esther Miracle ferry, which occurred on March 8, 2023 off the coast of the Gabonese capital.
In consideration of this tragedy, the Minister of Transport, Merchant Marine and the Sea said he was satisfied that Gabon had hosted this workshop, because the conclusions that emerged from it “will allow us to refine the maritime strategy that we are currently developing. The Head of State, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguéma, has validated that Gabon can now equip itself with a policy that allows us to deal with certain situations based on current maritime issues.”the government member said.
In this sense, the Captain of the ship, Loïc Dieudonné Moudouma Ndinga pleads for more synergies between States, stakeholders in the sector, international maritime organizations and donors for access to cheaper ship purchase costs and shipyard construction. The Minister of Transport, Merchant Navy and the Sea also issued another plea in favor of strict compliance with the lifespan of boats and ferries; as well as prescribed revision and maintenance periods.
The workshop work on “Security of inland waterways and passenger ferries in West and Central Africa” was attended by delegates from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Maritime Organization for West and Central Africa (MOWCA), the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMSF), the African Union (AU) of CEMAC and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The experts and participants came from Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and host country Gabon.
Feodora Madiba
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2024-07-17 19:34:40
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