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Law drowns with faulty vessels

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Vessel owners and masters are getting off lightly for years due to lack of proper laws and lax enforcement of the existing ones, experts said yesterday.
At least 2,865 people have drowned, 400 have been injured and 300 have gone missing in 291 vessel accidents in the last 27 years. But the guilty virtually walked awaywith seeming impunity, they said.
A maximum of 27 accidents occurred in 1994 that claimed 303 lives. However, a record 426 people suffered casualties in 11 accidents in 1986.
Six accidents this year have left over 200 people dead. The Inland Shipping Ordinance, 1976 does not offer any third party risk insurance or life insurance for passengers, which is mandatory in most countries of the world.
"Trials were held for almost all launch accidents, but I can not remember a single case in which vessel owners or masters were punished," Advocate Redwanul Bari, a shipping law expert, told the The Daily Star.
Under the staggered shipping ordinance procedures, if any casualty takes place involving vessels, the master or any staff member or someone else has to inform the local police station of it.
The police then break the story to
local deputy commissioner or magistrate, who in tern apprises the director general of shipping.
Only the director general can order a probe into the incident on behalf of the department.
The shipping ministry is also entitled to form investigation into any vessel accident, but only the probe body is allowed to conduct investigation. On the basis of their report, the case is sent to a regular law court or to the lone marine court.
In most cases, the shipping department forwards bungled probe reports to courts, sealing the fate of trial, department sources said.
They said Rajhansi and Jalkapot coalition case of December 29, 2002 and M V Shubah accident on May 23 in the same year are now on trial in the marine court. But the trial is making tardy headway due to poor manpower.
The court has only one magistrate, one prosecution officer and two lawyers with 100 cases to deal with, lawyers said.
The shipping ordinance carries a maximum punishment of five-yeas of imprisonment and a fine of Tk 10,000 for the launch masters.
The launch owner has to pay Tk 1,00000 in damages, if passengers die.