ITF: Indonesian And Russian Inland Waterway Accidents Are Avoidable Tragedies

The ITF and its affiliates are deeply shocked by two terrible accidents that have taken the lives of nearly 200 people. In the first accident, a ferry carrying three times its passenger capacity capsized on Lake Toba, Indonesia, leaving over 190 people dead or missing. In the other accident in Volgograd, Russia, a catamaran, also carrying over its capacity, capsized in the Volga River after colliding with another boat, killing 11 people. The ITF and its 670 affiliated unions representing over 19 million transport workers would like to express their condolences to the relatives of the people who have lost their lives.

Two tragedies, but with common causes:

• Lack of control and enforcement.
• Lack of international enforceable standards.
• Lack of safety awareness.

Nick Bramley, chair of the ITF inland navigation section, commented: “These are further tragedies that could have been avoided, but sadly they won’t be the last ones unless something is done to deal with the root cause of this carnage.

“For far too many times in recent years, we have had to read of death and suffering in incidents that claim the lives of workers and passengers in the name of profit.

“It is sad that no lessons have been learnt from the increasing number of accidents that regularly occur in many parts of the world on ferries and excursion vessels.”

The ITF calls for a robust culture of safety established on the basis of:

• Competency oriented training and certification for crew members.
• Systematic enforcement of regulations regarding safety, security and passenger rights.
• Licencing schemes for vessels engaged in passenger transport.

The ITF, therefore, repeats its call for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other international bodies to take steps to move towards a modern set of standards for the inland navigation industry.

Press Release: ITF

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