Maritime Administrator Orders Destruction of Unsafe Boats

3 May 2011

Maputo — The recently appointed maritime administrator in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, Antonio Vilanculos, has ordered the destruction of all passenger boats that do not meet the minimum safety standards.

Antonio Vilanculos announced this initiative during a meeting in the city of Beira with the maritime operators.

The administrator said that, in general, passengers are transported on unsafe boats from Beira to Buzi, Chiloane, Machanga, Barada and Ampara.

According to Vilanculos, passengers should be transported with dignity and in comfort. However, “what we have seen is very worrying, since passengers travel in overcrowded boats which do not even have life vests” said Vilanculos.

The maritime operators confirmed the situation outlined by the administrator, pointing out that one boat with a capacity of 15 people was in fact transporting more than 45 passengers along with freight. According to the operators, boats carry oil drums in place of the life jackets.

Vilanculos stated that “I am worried about the overloading and how people are transported. It is an unacceptable way to carry humans. We cannot call these carcasses boats”.

“I am going to destroy boats that do not meet the necessary conditions, because they just create shipwrecks, claiming lives” asserted Vilanculos.

The administrator, who took up his post in early January, promised tough measures to protect people and save lives. He said that boats must be rigorously examined to make sure that they are in a fit state to carry passengers.

The last shipwreck in Sofala was in November, when twenty people died on an overcrowded boat travelling between Machanga and Beira.

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