It took only a minute for “ML Ashraf Uddin”, a moving sunken-deck small passenger vessel, to go under the Shitalakshya River in Narayanganj after being hit from behind by a cargo vessel named "MV Rupshi-9" on Sunday afternoon.
Only a few of the passengers on board, who were mostly outside the cabins, got a chance to jump off and swim ashore while the rest were feared to be trapped inside as the boat fully submerged.
The launch had at least 50 passengers onboard while six bodies were recovered till last night.
Experts said the vessel capsized right away because of its type — sunken-deck — which has fewer safety measures than any other type of vessel. These vessels do not have watertight decks that help remain them afloat providing sufficient time to rescue passengers.
A slight collision with an object or a wave in a rough river can cause these vessels to tilt and sink. Even, these launches sway unsafely at the slightest thrust of any other vessel.
According to a Department of Shipping official, the government stopped providing registration to sunken-deck vessels in 2014.
Experts have been urging the government for a long time to ban these vessels considering safety measures, but hundreds of them are still operating all over the country including ones on busy routes like Dhaka and Narayanganj.
These launches are being operated to shorter distances through Buriganga, Shitalakshya, and Meghna rivers from Dhaka to Munshiganj and Narayanganj, where thousands of big vessels are running as well.
Prof Hadiuzzaman, director of Buet's Accident Research Institute, said: “These launches are highly risky… these are not stable, which is necessary for a passenger's vessel. These vessels are not following proper design and do not have certified drivers also.”
Recurrence continues
On June 29, 2020, “MV Morning Bird” sank in the Buriganga River after colliding with Mayur-2, a larger launch, killing at least 34 passengers.
In April next year, “ML Sabit Al Hasan” with 50 passengers capsized in the Shitalakkhya River in Narayanganj, after being hit by a cargo ship, killing 34 people.
After such incidents, a number of investigation committees have identified sunken-deck type launches as the most vulnerable ones due to not having enough stability and being built without proper designs.
After the 2020 capsize, the Shipping Ministry’s seven-member investigation committee, headed by its Joint Secretary (Development) Md Rafiqul Islam Khan, recommended that the government strictly control the movement of sunken-deck type launches on wide and busy rivers, and ban them gradually.
However, the government has yet to follow up on that recommendation.
Contacted, Joint Secretary Rafiqul Islam told that the ministry’s department concerned was working on it.
Decision within days
A highly-placed source at the Department of Shipping said that the ministry was thinking of banning these vessels. “The decision will come within a day or two,” said the official, asking to remain anonymous as he is not authorized to talk to the media.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Chairman Commodore Golam Sadeq also hinted that the government was working on banning the sunken-deck passenger vessels.
Commodore AZM Jalal Uddin, director general of the Department of Shipping, said that the sunken-deck vessels were risky but “affordable for passengers of short-distance”.
“Besides, these vessels are plying in remote areas – in haors and hill districts – where other forms of vessels are not available. But if the designs are okay and rules are followed, these can be safe too,” he said.
These vessels should be phased out gradually and replaced by modern vessels. “As the number of passengers has increased, new vessels can be afforded easily,” Jalal Uddin added.
