CPT submits damning report on boat tragedy

KOCHI: The lack of visibility due to the faulty design of fishing vessel ‘Besalel’, the crowding of tourist boats at the tourist boat jetty, and the poor hull condition of ferry boat M B Bharath were cited as some of the reasons by the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) in their report on the Fort Kochi ferry boat tragedy of August 26, which claimed the lives of 11 passengers.
The report also said that the fisheries department had failed to monitor or regulate the construction, licensing and manning of fishing vessels.
The CPT report pointed to the lack of an ‘aryakaaran’ (lookout) at the elevated helm of the fishing boat, who could have alerted the driver, for causing the accident. Also, the docking of multiple vessels at the tourism department’s boat jetty, adjacent to the Fort Kochi ferry jetty just meters away from the spot of the accident, further compromised the visibility of the driver of the fishing boat.
On Wednesday, the office of chief secretary Jiji Thomson also submitted a report to the government, recommending a series of measures to prevent such incidents.
The 30-odd recommendations (see box) to improve the operational standards of inland navigational services in the state were submitted to the department of water transport as well as the Kerala ports department, CPT, Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), among others.
The recommendations have come after it was revealed that Besalel, the fishing boat that collided with M B Bharath, did not have a valid licence at the time of the incident. The fishing boat was plying with a licence that expired on July 23, 2015.
Though it was stated that a software problem had stopped fishing boat registrations for over a year, the fisheries department claimed it was due to a hike in fees.
“The department had increased the registration fee of all fishing vessels using onboard engines and over 20m in length. This was objected by fishing communities and their unions. According to our findings, this was the case of Besalel as well,” said K M Alias, deputy director of the fisheries department, Ernakulam.
“Following the incident, the pathetic condition of water transport, including lack of proper safety measures and poor condition of vessels, became evident. This is why these recommendations are of high priority,” said officials from the office of the chief secretary.