NIWA, Barge Operators Mull Insurance Cover for Barges, Cargoes on Waterways
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has revealed that it was working with barge operators to have a comprehensive insurance cover for both barges and cargoes on Nigeria’s waterways.
NIWA explained that an improved quality insurance cover for vessels is a prime project being planned in its bids to decongesting the nation’s ports and reducing pressure on Nigerian roads.
NIWA Managing Director, George Moghalu, who disclosed this to newsmen at a media interactive session said, “We are looking at having quality insurance to cover both the barges and the cargoes. This was some of the issues raised by the importers, because they do not want a situation where they would gamble with their goods to bring their goods from China and Europe and then getting to lose it on the Nigerian waterways.”
Moghalu lamented that 95 per cent of boat mishaps occur in the night or early hours of the morning, adding that most of the boats involved in mishaps do not have night navigational aids.
According to him, these vessels do not have night navigational aids, so therefore they should not move in the night, yet people will still move at nights.
These vessels, he said, will avoid the right jetties and at times, they do not even move from jetties, but at river banks to the water and expose our people to dangers.
