Call for govt to enforce safety at sea

By GYNNIE KERO
MADANG businessman Sir Peter Barter has urged the provincial government and local level governments to introduce a law to enforce safety at sea for boat operators and passengers.
He made the call yesterday after his ship, Kalibobo Spirit, helped rescue a dinghy carrying 14 passengers that ran out of fuel while crossing Astrolabe Bay.
Sir Peter, who is the managing director of the Melanesian Tourist Services (MTS) Ltd, noted that the number of small banana boats going to sea without sufficient fuel, without safety equipment and placing their passengers at risk had become a serious issue.
He said it was incumbent on the Madang government, and the local level governments to introduce the Small Craft Safety Act to ensure that all small boats were registered and met basic safety requirements, which at present were largely ignored.
He added that the registration fees could assist in undertaking search and rescue operations if properly administered.
According to the National Maritime Safety Authority, 10 of the 15 maritime provinces have commenced implementing the Small Craft Act.
The authority’s general manager and CEO, Paul Unas, said Madang was one of the provinces that was yet to implement the Act.
“However, no matter what laws and standards are put in place, people will continue to be lost at sea if dinghies continue to be overloaded, run out of fuel and travel in bad weather,” Unas said.
“The bad decisions that directly cause loss of life at sea are not made by remote government officials, but by the operators of the dinghies.”