The government of The Gambia has been lucky so far not to experience a ferry disaster causing loss of life and property. It is not uncommon to receive news of ferries sinking because of their lack of sea worthiness. The ferries plying the Banjul/Barra waters have been subjected to repairs only to suffer similar defects causing them to be grounded for further repairs.
Such near disaster incidents should be taken as early warning signals and should not be disregarded. The sea worthiness of the ferries is in question. Hence, partnership should be built to invite expertise to do proper assessment and recommendation in order to avert a disaster. We hope the ministry of transport, GPA and the ferry service authorities will convene a meeting the soonest to decide on consulting an expert in order to facilitate external technical assessment of the seaworthiness of the ferries.
