Trawlers are not Passenger Boats – F R Chowdhury (1st)

There are many types of fishing vessels. Trawler is one of them. A trawler catches fish by trawling nets behind or on the sides of the trawler. Normally they operate at open sea away from navigable channel so that they do not cause hindrance to navigation. Merchant ships normally keep clear of vessels engaged in fishing. However, if the fishing vessel happens to operate on a navigable channel then it has to make the channel clear for bigger ships. Trawlers take time to haul their nets and that is why they normally operate in open sea conditions. Vessels registered as trawlers are not expected to operate in our rivers and they are not supposed to carry fare paying passengers.. Yet, I come across the news of loss of lives due to sinking of trawlers in our rivers. It is all seriously confusing.

Any vessel or craft that carries 12 or more passengers is termed as a passenger vessel. If it is a large vessel that operates at sea then it has to comply with the requirements of several international conventions such as Load-line, SOLAS, MARPOL etc. If it is operating only in domestic waters such as rivers or lakes then it shall comply with our national regulations. One thing is certain that unless the vessel is registered and certified as passenger vessel, it shall not be allowed to carry passengers.

As stated earlier about several types of fishing vessels, there are also several types of commercial ships and boats that operate in our domestic waters. These could be power driven vessels or sailing vessels. Power driven vessels come in the shape of small ships, power-driven barges, tugs and other small cargo boats or passenger vessels. All vessels should be designed, built and operated the way they are certified. The most dangerous are those that use shallow pumps diesel engine with an extended shaft and propeller. The engines cannot be reversed and the vessel cannot be stopped as desired. Only marine diesel engines can operate in both directions – that means to say they can be reversed to take off the headway. Use of unauthorized diesel engines that were not meant for marine use is highly dangerous and must be stopped immediately.

Commercial boats will be categorised according to their design, construction and mode of operation. It shall be duly endorsed in their certificate of registry and survey certificate. The maritime administration (department of shipping), BIWTA (Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority) and the River Police should conduct frequent checks to ensure that vessels are used for what they are certified for. Checks should prevent over-loading of passenger or cargo. It should be compared with documents issued to the vessel. Vessel should also have valid certificate of survey. These checks will reduce number of accidents.
I do not understand how in the presence of so many law enforcement agencies, trawlers (meant for fishing at sea) operate in our inland waters and carry passengers. I would very much like to hear from all those agencies how the trawlers are allowed to carry passengers in our inland waterways. Why we come to know only when a trawler sinks and people lose lives. Why such illegal operation is not stopped before the accidents take place? Why those responsible are not taken into task? In a democratic country people have a right to know all that. It is time that government agencies clarify matters.

A friend of mine tells me that journalists in Bangladesh refer to all power driven vessels as trawlers and that is how they report in the newspapers. I cannot believe that in a country like Bangladesh our journalists can be that ignorant.
However, I am aware of another strange thing in Bangladesh. People talk about Toyota and Honda jeeps not realizing the fact that “jeep” is a brand name used by Chrysler Corporation for their four-wheel drive vehicles. This trade mark brand name cannot be used by any other manufacturer. Similar vehicles manufactured by others are referred to as “4×4” or “four-wheel drive” or “SUV” (sports utility vehicle) etc. Some of the manufacturers use their own trade/ brand name such as land-cruiser, range-rover etc. The government has to take the blame for this ignorance/ misunderstanding/ confusion because the vehicle registration form uses the word “jeep” as a category of vehicles. It is time we should correct our mistake. All power driven vessels are not trawlers and all SUVs are not jeeps.

London 20-June-2015
<fazlu.chowdhury@btinternet.com>