The reported move by the Department of Shipping (DoS) to bring in the country's oceangoing and inland ships and vessels on a single online platform through registration and make those a part of a formal economic sector is well-directed. At the moment, the relevant agencies are unaware of the actual number of vessels plying across the country. Nearly 23,000 ships and other types of vessels are registered under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1983, and the Inland Shipping Ordinance of 1976. But sector insiders do believe that the number of unregistered vessels would be twice the registered ones.
The DoS, according to a report published in this paper last Monday, would prepare an interactive database for all ships and vessels operating in the country over a period of two and a half years. The basic objective of the project is to help the government earn more revenues through the registration of unaccounted-for water vessels and help make the latter eligible for loans, insurance and other facilities that are being offered to other formal sectors. In fact, the registration of a greater number of vessels would help the government earn additional revenue every year through licence renewal fees, survey fees, VAT, income tax and the like.
It has not been proper on the part of the government to allow the plying of vessels without registration. Even then, the department does deserve appreciation for its belated initiative. However, getting all the mechanised vessels registered might prove a daunting task, particularly when the track record of the DoS has never been that bright. There are instances galore that it has compromised with the safety and security of passengers using motor vessels, particularly the smaller ones. In the event of passenger launch accidents, on many occasions, the vessels involved were found plying without valid survey certificates or necessary safety gears, including life buoys, jackets, fire extinguishers. Even, in some cases, it was found that men operating the ill-fated motor vessels had no formal training.
So, it would really be unfortunate if generation of additional revenue for the government remains the sole objective of the project in question. In that case, the MoS will miss an opportunity to know the state of fitness of all motor vessels and the safety measures that are in place particularly in passenger launches plying the inland waterways. Irregularities and breach of maritime rules are rampant in the operation of the water transport sector. The DoS and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (IWTA) are aware of such violations, but they could hardly initiate any effective actions against such violations.
Foot-dragging and craving for graft money among a section of officials of these organisations are largely responsible for their unsatisfactory performance. But their failure does very often lead to loss of lives of a good number of people in waterway accidents every year. So, they need to concentrate greater amount of efforts on improving the safety situation concerning all types of motor vessels.