THE TRAINING OF PERSONNEL MANNING INLAND
WATERCRAFT AND SMALL FISHING BOATS IN THE REGIONAL
MARITIME ACADEMY
BY
CAPT. GEORGE DARKEY (PRINCIPAL LECTURER, AND HEAD OF
NAUTICAL DEPARTMENT, REGIONAL MARITIME ACADEMY
1. ABSTRACT
In recent years, Governments in the sub-region have shifted emphasis to
river transportation rather than road transportation, hence more cargoes and passengers
are being transported cheaply inland. Most of the ports and harbours have been
rehabilitated to meet modern trends as a result, sophisticated crafts have been purchased
to ply these waters.
Recent figures have shown that, there has been an increase in the
carriage of oil and other hazardous cargoes on the rivers and lakes, either in barges or
in drums. These lakes and rivers are either not marked at all or partly marked. These
present great hazard to crafts operating in these waters, especially in the night.
Large communities depend on these waters for drinking and also for
fishing. Large fleet of small fishing boats and Canoes fish in these waters both day and
right.
Recent tragic accidents and the consequent loss of lives have prompted
Governments of the subregion to ask the Regional Maritime Academy to look again at the
training of such small boat crew.
The Regional Maritime Academy has therefore designed special courses
for the personnel manning these small boats. This training also cover all crew manning
small fishing boats and canoes operating in coastal and inland waters.
The training is at times done in local languages outside the Academy in
the vicinity of their areas of operation. Successful candidates are then issued with
certificates.
My paper will focus on the need for such courses and also to outline
the courses that have been designed by the Academy to meet the training needs of the
personnel manning these small boats.
