Governor reminds boat builders of standards

By SALLY POKITON
UPNG journalism
student
WEST New Britain Governor Peter Humphreys has challenged boat manufacturers in the country to produce vessels that meet safety standards.
He said there were a high number of boats capsizing in the Maritime provinces.
Humphreys raised this point during question time in Parliament, saying the design of small banana boats were unsafe for open water operations.
He said the past few years had seen many dinghies capsize in West New Britain and other maritime provinces as a result of bad weather and overloading.
He said the 19ft and 23ft banana boats powered by 20 and 40-horse power motors were designed in such a way that when they capsized, passengers had little to no chance of clinging onto the wet fibreglass hulls, especially in rough seas.
Humphreys called for plans to ensure all dinghies sold and manufactured complied with international standards.
In response, Minister for Transport Francis Awesa said safety should not be compromised and he would look into the issue and address it as he was not too familiar with safety regulations.