The Merchant Sail Navy (MSN), a reserve marine formation established and incorporated under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Abuja, has urged the State and Federal Governments to deploy personnel of the outfit for voluntary assistance to jetties across the country.
Commander General of MSN, Capt. John Linus Okoronkwo, who disclosed this in statement, said deploying the sail navy officials to the jetties would help to reduce accidents on the waterways, adding that this is one of the approved objectives of the body.
Stressing that the plea followed the boat accidents on the Lagos waterways that led to several deaths, Okoronkwo said the Merchant Sail Navy could assist government agencies in such situations by patrolling and issuing live safety apparatus, such as life jackets and life vest to the boat passengers.
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“The Merchant Sail Navy shall regulate the safety apparatus to ensure when to change expired items. We shall take records through the manifest as a data collection including information of the next of kin of boat passengers in case of emergencies, as well as provide vital information to the Nigerian security forces relating to challenges at sea.
“The Merchant Sail Navy needs an emergency rescue speed boat for our divers units, a beat station at the waterfront jetty and government support in achieving this goal,” he said.
Okoronkwo argued that apart from making Nigeria a safe place for citizens of the country, deploying the merchant sail navy to jetties would also reduce the rate of unemployment in the country.
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