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By Steve Agbota
The Managing Director of Hydro Marine and Boat Services, Captain Festus Hodewu, has said that Nigerian water transport needs world class standard boats to avert accidents in the nation’s waters.
Hodewu, who stated this at the launch of three high-tech boats constructed by Hydro Marine and Boat Services for water transport in Lagos during the weekend, said that there is need for a standard boat, then the issue of mishap will be a thing of forgotten completely.
According to him, if passengers are on lifejacket are with proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), there is no reason for any reason to die even when boat capsized.
He said that boat capsise because somebody is operating on unsafe act and they are doing what they should not do, adding that if someone is not operating on unsafe act, there is no reason why a boat should capsise.
Speaking on the newly built boats by Hydro Marine and Boat Services, he said that the boats are world class standard with the capacity of 70, 55 and 36 passengers and they all built from aluminum (alloy).
He added that people could find all the equipment expected in the aircraft in the boats, which makes it different from other boats.
“In our boats, there is radar working properly from my embarkation, I know when I’m getting to my destination. Now I have my radar working properly, I know what my weather is saying, I know what the water is saying, and then I’m prepared for it. “Accident comes when you’re not prepared. Accident happened when you have done something wrong, that means you are operating on unsafe act. But I know from my embarkation that, look the tie-ride is 1.2 meter high, I’m prepared for it because my radar is telling me,” he explained.
He said there is alarm in the boat that alerts pilot that there is something in the water or the boat is about to have a collision and all the pilot has to do is to take notice of the alarm.
“For instance, from a distance, if I’m doing a speed, the alarm will notifying me that, with this my bearing; you will have a collision in the next two nautical miles. One nautical mile, 500 meters, so is telling me what is even in the water.
“Whatever object is in the water, my radar is telling me that look, in the next three minutes, you go aground or you are going on a wreak. So all we need to do is to make sure that we have a standard boat, then the issue of mishap will be a thing of forgotten completely,” he said.
