As part of efforts to ease waterway passenger traffic and minimize boat mishaps in Lagos, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Lagos Area Office has introduced a 60-seater passenger vessel for the Ikorodu-Marina route.
The new vessel called “the unsinkable boat”, is another effort by NIWA to address the quagmire of stranded waterway passengers after the close of small boat operations by 6pm.
Speaking with News Diet, a staff of NIWA who preferred anonymity, explained that the new vessel would dissipate the rush by small boat operators around 6pm which usually leads to mishaps.
“We have found that most accidents occur during the evening rush hour as Lagosians are hurrying home from work and the boat captains are equally trying to avoid the penalties for being at the waterway terminals by 6pm.”
“The boat isn’t a speed boat but a ferry that moves at moderate speed and it will be an Addax jetty until 6:15pm to convey passengers who couldn’t make the 6pm deadline at other ferry terminals,” the NIWA official said.
Meanwhile, our correspondent gathered that despite wide patronage on Tuesday evening several passengers opted for speed boats on Wednesday evening as they complained that the ferry is too slow.
In response, a NIWA official explained that the vessel wasn’t built for speed but emphasized that the new watercraft is one of the strongest boats that can withstand any tide and currents on the waterways.
The NIWA official encouraged waterways passengers to prioritize their safety over speed, even as the regulator asserted that the vessel would also play an effective role monitoring the Ikorodu waterways for small boats operating after the 6pm deadline.
NIWA’s unsinkable boat is fitted with night navigational aid and it also features two outboard engines at 350 horsepower each.
