Morobe boat owners urged to register vessels for safety

The National National
A boat owner from Labu Butu village in Huon Gulf, Huks Collin (right), liaising with passengers at Aigris waterfront yesterday. – Nationalpic by LARRY ANDREW

By ZACHERY PER
Morobe Small Craft Registry officer Max Waikisa has urged boat owners in maritime electorates and local level governments in Morobe to register their boats to comply with safety laws.
Waikisa told The National that more than 40 boats had registered and he appealed to others to do so during the grace period of the registration process.
“We appeal to them to come so that we do full registration of their boats,” he said.
The registry officer said registration would ensure proper inspections were done on boats as there could be many that were defective and could accidents.
The officer said the length of the grace period for registration depended on how many boats were registered and once the number agreed to by the registry office is reached, they would start enforcing penalties against those not registered.
Waikisa said other maritime provinces had already enforced their small craft laws and Morobe should also do the same.