Ship, 68 Passengers Rescued
Published: May 26, 2005
A timely intervention of the maritime administration has saved 68 passengers aboard a ship that developed engine problem, 100 miles off Nigeria’s shores.
The ship, MV Praque Yara, flying Sao Tome and Principe flag, was said to have drifted for two days near Brass waters in Rivers State, before sending a distress call to maritime authorities.
It took the combined efforts of the National Maritime Authority (NMA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and Marine Industrial Services Consultative Organi-sation (MISCO), to rescue the vessel and passengers.
The Search and Rescue Department of the NMA, led by Commander E.T. Bako (rtd), was said to have located the ship with the aid of a helicopter, 100 miles off the country’s shores.
In a statement from the NMA, LNG Bayelsa was said to have sighted the distress signals at 19.33 hours, and assisted in the rescue operation.
According to the statement, there were no injuries among the passengers on board, but 12 passengers were reported to have fallen sick with stomach pains.
The passengers ran out of food for the period that the ship was drifting on the waters.
Director of Marine Services, NMA, Captain A.S. Olopoenia, said Nigeria had to do everything to rescue the ship and its passengers as part of its love for human lives and compliance with international obligations.
Explaining that Nigeria was a signatory to the 1979 Search and Rescue Convention, Olopoenia said, “we must do everything to offer assistance to calls from the high seas and within our territorial waters.”
The NMA said it is detaining the vessel until surveyors have carried out inspection and declare her fit and safe to sail, adding that NMA officials have already left for Port Harcourt to carry out the survey.
Under the Port State Control (PSC), being enforced by the International Maritime Organis-ation (IMO), each maritime nation is expected to carry out inspection on vessels at her territorial waters, to ascertain their seaworthiness.
This is to ensure that ship owners maintain their vessels to ensure security of lives at sea.
Nigeria is not known to have started full implementation of Port State Control, due to shortage of manpower and other logistics.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: