By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT—Boat operators in Rivers State have said that they lose no fewer than 10 of their members, passengers and engines to pirates and other water disasters in Rivers and Bayelsa waterways monthly

They added that the state government had not done much to safeguard the lives of people travelling on the sea.

The operators, comprising speed and big boat drivers from Nembe, Bonny, Bile and Okirika, and fishermen spoke, yesterday, when the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, held its official formation of the National Waterways Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, NWEPRU, in Rivers State.

The seafarers explained that there have always been issues of emergency on the sea and that the level of disasters occurring daily in the state was serious and needed to be controlled.

The boat operators lamented that their inability to manage the situation had resulted to several unwanted deaths.

Listing their challenges, they said the activities of pirates and big boats owned by oil multinationals were among factors causing most water mishaps.

They called on the state government and NIWA to provide some basic emergency equipment to help them manage any occurrence within 48 hours of such mishaps.

They also called on NIWA to train boats users on some basic driving precautions to reduce sea accidents.