As part of efforts of federal government to boast maritime security, Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, over the weekend commissioned two patrol boats (PB – Gusau and PB – Jalingo) as well as a 32- Seater  Passenger Ferry Boat to enhance operational efficiency and encourage water transportation at the National Inland Waterways Authority’s (NIWA) Area Office in Port Harcourt.

A statement by the Eric Ojiekwe, Director of Press and Publicity in the ministry reported that The Minister who was former General Manager at NIWA further disclosed that while he was at the helm of affairs there, he did not only maintain the amount of revenue target set by his predecessors, but surpassed it.

He said, “When I came here, a lot of people were wondering if we are going to succeed. But I did not only sustain the level of revenue that was sustained by my predecessors, but I even surpassed them,” he said.

He commended the Managing Director NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu, for the giant strides attained, saying: “Seriously, MD,  l am happy I came here today. If didn’t come, I would not have known the strides you have achieved. Without doubts, I think you have made the greatest impacts of all the Managing Directors that have served the Authority”. “Your tenure has moved the Authority from level 5 to  Level 9”.

He described inland water way transportation as the cheapest and safest means of moving goods and persons and key to development of any country, especially that endowed with water.

Furthermore, the Minister observed that Nigeria is blessed in that regard as 28 States of the Federation can be accessed by water, hence the need to develop the sector.

While promising to provide support in any capacity, he called on the MD to quickly  operationalize the Marina Area Office in Lagos which has been identified as a hub for trans- shipping cargoes from Lagos through the  Intercoastal routes like Warri and Onitsha.

Earlier, the Managing Director, NIWA, Dr. Moghalu, informed  that in less than a year, the Agency commissioned  more than twenty  patrol boats, as well as a house boat, tugboat and water ambulance for distribution to various Area offices of the Authority.

According to him, the act is part of the Agency’s vision to ensure that the nation’s Inland  waterways provides a truly safe, efficient, cost effective and alternative mode of transportation of goods and persons as well as become competitive and attractive.

Speaking further, Moghalu said: “the huge opportunities that abounds in the nation’s Inland waterways can only be maximized if concerted efforts are geared towards the development of infrastructure and proper funding to make the waterways attractive and competitive to players”.

Also, he disclosed that the Authority has licensed several companies for the  transportation of cargoes across the waterways in Nigeria, especially from Lagos so as to decongest it and open up other Inland ports.

Source: https://authorityngr.com/2022/09/05/maritime-safety-niwa-gets-two-patrol-boats/

A federal judge in Los Angeles on Friday dismissed the criminal indictment against a dive boat captain charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people when the vessel caught fire and sank off the California coast three years ago.

The 75-foot (23-meter) Conception caught fire while most of those onboard were sleeping, killing 33 passengers and a crew member. It is considered one of California’s worst maritime disasters.

U.S. District Judge George Wu said in a ruling that the indictment, handed down on December 2020 against captain Jerry Nehl Boylan by a federal grand jury, must be thrown out because prosecutors had failed to accuse him of gross negligence.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, said prosecutors would seek authorization from the Department of Justice to appeal Wu’s ruling. An attorney for Boylan, 68, could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

The indictment accused Boylan of causing the deaths through “misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties.”

The U.S. District Court grand jury cited three federal safety violations – failure to assign a night watch or roving patrol aboard the boat, to conduct sufficient crew training or to conduct adequate fire drills.

The victims had been sleeping below deck when the boat went up in flames while anchored near Santa Cruz Island, off the Santa Barbara coast, during a sport diving expedition. They included a family of five, a teacher and his daughter, a diving instructor and marine biologist.

The five surviving crew members, including Boylan, had been above deck in berths behind the wheelhouse and escaped by leaping overboard as the burning boat sank into the Pacific.

They told investigators that flames coming from the passenger quarters were too intense to save anyone trapped below. Coroners investigators determined the victims died of smoke inhalation.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/judge-throws-indictment-captain-fatal-499224