By Zika Bobby
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa(MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has received additional support from the government of Sierra Leone in the organisation’s drive to reduce maritime accidents and promote safe navigation in West and Central Africa.
Adalikwu who was in Freetown to meet with the country’s Minister of Transport and Aviation, Ambassador Fanday Turay, expressed MOWCA’s concern over the various marine accidents involving ferries, boats, barges and other watercrafts, said such accidents are avoidable when safety measures and practices are adhered to.
The MOWCA SG decried the loss of lives and investments occasioned by the various marine accidents and formally invited Sierra Leone to the regional workshop on safety of inland waterways and passenger ferries in West and Central Africa planned to hold in Libreville Gabon from 15-17 July, 2024. He added that MOWCA is organising the training in conjunction with the IMO and International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF).
He drew attention to a boat accident that occurred in Gabon in 2023 where over 60 persons died and seven were declared missing, saying the incident prompted MOWCA to approach Gabon to offer assistance in planning the workshop.
He told the minister that MOWCA is offering maritime training scholarship to 10 Sierra Leonian youths at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, as part of capacity building drive.
While urging West and Central African countries to prioritise training of operators of boats and ferries, he identified that some of the marine accidents in the sub region involved persons not trained and without any formal record of their particulars. He advised that water transportation, being a critical mode of logistics, should not be left unregulated or made an all comers affair in the interest of passenger and safety and avoiding commercial loses to trader victims.
Adalikwu said: “Our training faculty for the workshop will take participants through basic safety measures that are in sync with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) and basics of the Standard of Training Certification and Watch keeping (STCW) as they apply to inland waterways especially in areas of emergency and occupational safety for smaller platforms. Findings have indicated that most people operating small boats for commercial transportation are not formally trained which poses great danger to travelers along the inland waterways.”
“We are also looking at rules of the road for water transportation particularly on ways to avoid collision in the event of crafts approaching each other” he said.
He gave his host a copy of MOWCA Publication of Annual Report of activities which includes meeting of the Council Ministers with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2022 in London, leading to the establishment of a MOWCA-IMO Joint Action Plan on areas of collaboration and cooperation. Consequent upon which the Committee of Experts from member States produced six (6) Working Groups on identified areas of needs will meet in Abidjan next month.
He informed that the Working Groups were inaugurated and had been meeting virtually, with a physical meeting coming up in Abidjan from 6-10 of May, 2024 for which invitations had been extended to Sierra Leone and other countries.
Responding, Ambassador Turay expressed gratitude to Adalikwu and commended his zeal in reviving the organisation, as he recalled the age long existing relationship between Nigeria and Sierra Leone and in particular the support from Nigeria during their crises period.
He congratulated the SG for the good work that he has done since he came on board MOWCA and the collaborations that he has established with other international organizations.
Turay expressed that Sierra Leone was reviewing its maritime documents for onward submission to the Parliament and Cabinet and assured that this will help address such challenges that affect the country’s commitment to international bodies.
The Minister thanked the SG for the 10 scholarship slots at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, noting that most of the Sierra Leonian seafarers were aging and needing younger replacement, he therefore sees the scholarship as a good way to go.
Concerning the waterway transport the Minister informed the SG that they sought the assistance of the UNDP to support in the building of jetties as this will go a long way in their transport master plan.
Before leaving Freetown, Adalikwu also visited the country’s Deputy Minister of Finance Kadiatu Allie for further interaction to boost the country’s financial commitment to MOWCA.