Call for more stringent maritime safety laws in Vanuatu

Transcript

Vanuatu women want the government to improve the safety of sea transportation throughout the country, in light of last week's ferry sinking.

The sinking of Vanuatu's ill-fated barge, the MGY, resulted in the deaths of two mothers, a child, and a crew member, after it sunk in the North of Efate Island.

The owner and both its captains have been charged with manslaughter.

Police say the ferry's capacity was 30 people but it was overloaded with 41 passengers and crew and was not seaworthy.

The executive director of Vanuatu National Council of Women, Leas Cullwick, says ships are the main means of transport between the islands for Ni-Vanuatu who can not afford to fly.

She told correspondent Hilaire Bule that it's the government's duty to design laws that set high safety standards, and to ensure that the shipping industry complies with them.

LEAS CULLWICK: The Vanuatu National Council of Women is deeply concerned with the shipping industry in Vanuatu and calls on the government to become more responsible because it is at the end of the day the government that ensures that citizens abide by law. The most vulnerable in the society, any society are women and children and for the ship to drown with two women losing their lives and an innocent baby is very very disastrous for the nation.

HILAIRE BULE: Do you think that the government should improve the condition of the transportation between the Vanuatu islands?

LC: Definitely, it is the duty of the government to make sure that all ships that are providing service in this nation are seaworthy and they also apply, I know that the Vanuatu government does have laws in place where shipping industry is supposed to abide by in making sure that the ships are safe for the passengers to travel on. They are supposed to have six monthly checkups on the ships and ensure that they have insurance cover and that the ships are seaworthy but I don't know what has happened because this is indeed a very big accident that has happened in the maritime of the nation.

HB: Today you will see most of the ships, commercial vessels, they still carry cargo mixed with passengers. Do you think the government should introduce the law that the ships only carry passengers and the others only designed for cargo.

LC: Yes, I think it is very important that the government must seriously look at the ships that are doing service in the country because as you said everyone is grouped together in one ship, the cargo, and the people, and the animals, and this has got to come to a stop. We have to have special vessels that carry only passengers, and another vessel just to carry the cargo, we cannot mix everything together because this is what has happened.

Leas Cullwick says Ports and Marine harbour services need to be set up around the country, not just in Port Vila and Luganville, to ensure ships aren't overloaded.