The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) in collaboration with the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) and Interferry Association has moved to improve safety on Lagos waterways through collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Speaking yesterday when he hosted a delegation from MOWCA and Interferry on a facility tour of Lagos State waterways assets, the General Manager of LASWA, Damilola Emmanuel, explained that the facility tour was aimed at looking at the safety levels on the state inland waterways and exploring areas of improvement.

The LASWA General Manager, who also hosted members of the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN) on the sideline of the facility tour, stated: “Ferry safety is very important to inland waterways operations. When MOWCA approached Lagos State to say we were looking for where we wanted to host a ferry safety conference and we thought Lagos was a good place, the Lagos State government said it was ready to partner.

“As you know, we have enjoyed safety on the inland waterways in Lagos State. We want to continue to improve safety, knowing that we are going to be doing this with international partners who can come in and share knowledge with us.

“Interferry is an international safety body that promotes ferry safety from Europe to America, to Asia and Africa. They are a big ferry safety body and they’ve been doing this all over the world.”

On plans to bring in electric boats, Emmanuel explained that under the Omi-Eko project, the state will be bringing in electric boats.

“It is a project that seeks to revolutionise water transportation in Lagos with the introduction of electric ferries, upgrading of the existing jetties and terminals, dredging of the inland waterways and capacity building for LASWA,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Interferry, Mike Corrigan, explained that his company had come with 12 safety experts to help LASWA improve its safety operations.