By
Michele Witthaus |
The first Regional Forum on Domestic Ferry Safety, organised by IMO and Interferry, has agreed an action plan to improve ferry safety in developing nations.
More than 70 participants from national maritime administrations and ferry operators in south-east Asia attended the event in Bali from 6-7 December. The aim of the forum was to encourage sharing of information, challenges, ideas and solutions to improve the level of ferry safety in the region. The action plan that emerged from the event covers a range of issues, from accident reporting and investigation to guidelines on buying and running second-hand vessels.
“Formal presentations soon developed into open and very frank discussions in which no-one hesitated to admit that they had enormous challenges that were not going to be easy to solve,” said Interferry CEO Len Roueche. “Solutions like ‘practical regulations effectively enforced’ ran up against the realities of funding, manpower and training. Nevertheless it was encouraging to hear about the major strides being made in some countries.”
Resolutions agreed by the participants include the requirement for immediate reporting of the initial facts of maritime accidents and incidents, with subsequent accident investigation reports to be channelled through IMO’s established casualty investigation reporting system and shared regionally. It was also agreed that information should be provided on the size and scope of domestic ferry operations in each participating nation and that safety policies should be developed for the purchase and operation of second-hand vessels. Other resolutions urge encouragement of safety education for passengers and a study of the impact of artificially low fares, including how negative impacts have been overcome in certain countries.
Roueche remarked: “The friendly and positive exchange of ideas in Bali will not amount to much unless the process continues. The fact that we turned words into a plan of action raises real hope in this respect.”