For the Safety of Marine Transport Workers, Passengers Onboard Commercial Boats, Ferry service and Canoes in Nigeria, the Nigerian Chambers of Shipping,NCS, has urged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, to form partnership with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA to check the influx of substandard life jackets and Marine Safety wares in circulation in the country.
The chamber spoke through its Director General, Mrs. Ify Anazonwu Akerele in Lagos, she said most of the marine safety wares being imported or manufactured in Nigeria for use by water transport workers and passengers are substandard.
Akerele argued that SON’s intervention in checking these protective wares had become imperative as operators and passengers on board commercial boats are likely unaware of the danger they are exposed to on water with life jackets that cannot guarantee their safety in the event of a marine accident.
She identified standards of maritime safety wares as one area that SON can partner with other government agencies such as NIMASA to prevent loss of lives. It could be recalled that in January 2014, a local passenger boat conveying ten passengers and one boat operator capsized along Navy Town area in Ogogoro village.
The boat was said to have left Ibafon (Coconut) area of Apapa for Ojo Town and suffered a mishap just about 17 minutes into the 30 minutes trip. Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) officials that carried out rescue operations disclosed that 3 persons were missing after the incident.