Preventing launch disasters

Mr. Salahuddin writes about applying the "International Load Line Convention" to the inland passenger launches. This Convention is mainly for sea going- cargo vessels plying internationally. For passenger ships while plying nationally or internationally "Passenger ship construction rules" are applied which are much more stringent than the load line convention rules. Passenger ships therefore require more rigorous sub-division of its hull against damage and flooding and requires a higher margin of safety for its static and dynamic stability.

The BIWTC vessels which are mentioned by Salahuddin as safe are so because they are made safer by such design under the supervision of professional Naval Architects from the very planning and through to completion stage and afterwards by an 'inclining test' which must have proved an adequate margin of safety for its stability. This is also the practice in the British Marine and Coastguard Agency.

During my term as IMO Maritime Adviser to the Bangladesh government (1980-82), I could not lay my hand on any stability information or actual test results for any inland passenger launches. One significant reason for this in my opinion is that there were no Naval Architect surveyors or 'ship surveyors' employed by the department of shipping. If this is still the situation, the recruitment and training of such naval architect surveyors and their training abroad to learn and implement the passenger ship construction rules regarding the hull of the vessel should now be a topmost priority.

The suggestion by Mansoor that inland motorised passenger and cargo vessels be given over to a classification society like Lloyds, ABS, NKK, BV etc for registration and safe certification and survey etc is perhaps impossible because I do not know of any classification society of repute who would like to undertake work of such responsibility to safeguard lives involving such small survey fees, (normally based on tonnage of the ship). Classification societies came into being to assist the insurance of vessels and its cargo. If a ship is not classed it would be difficult to insure it and without insurance no one would supply cargo to it. The responsibility for safeguarding lives has always been the prerogative of respective government agencies and such statutory burden cannot be delegated to classification societies, nor would they want this responsibility of being prosecuted every time lives were lost in a launch disaster. It must be pointed out that Lloyds had moved out of Bangladesh altogether a few years ago after closing down all their offices there, and they are unlikely to move back in to register passenger launches.

Apprehensively, I also read in the newspapers that there are many influential launch owners who can flout the law with impunity with powerful political backing so much so that the Minister of Shipping cannot make much progress. In such dire circumstances the Prime Minister must lend her support to the Minister concerned in public and in unequivocal manner. Public clamour for a minister to resign and then filling the post by another politically impotent person is just a waste of time and energy.