Review of maritime laws on the way

By Mangoa Mosota

The signing of Merchant Shipping Act by President Kibaki a fortnight ago has paved way for the review of the maritime laws.

The proposed strict laws would lead to drastic reduction of water transport accidents and as a result maritime deaths.

Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Chief Surveyor and head of Maritime Safety Wilfred Kagimbi said adoption of the amended Act is a milestone for the corporation.

"We have been impaired since we have been operating through Merchant Shipping Act Charter 389 which is outdated," said Kagimbi.

He said statistics indicated that deaths on Kenyan waters were high due to weak legislation.

"Fishermen on our lakes have been operating without safety gadgets," argued Kagimbi, last week.

The expected new laws are likely to face resistance from fishermen, as the safety gears are expensive. For instance a life jacket costs an average Sh7,000, which is beyond means of many fishermen.

However, the cost of these gadgets cannot be measured to loss of fishers’ lives.

A study by Lake Victoria Commission last year showed that at least one fisherman dies daily, along the resource in the East African Countries.

The EAC has more than 100,000 fishermen. Speaking at Siungu Beach in Bondo District where KMA carried a safety sensitisation exercise for the locals, Kagimbi said many deaths are never reported due to poor networking.

"Relatives and friends of the fishers who drown report much later after the accidents, making rescue operations difficult."