Lanka producing high standard fibreglass boats - FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
says that safety standards for fishing boat construction and operation
must be improved to safeguard lives of Sri Lankan fishers.
A boat under construction
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Sri Lanka is known for its high standard and efficiency in producing
fibreglass boats of different types.
This reputation comes from a few boatyards that build to
international standard and exports boats to European and Asian
countries. However, there are many makeshift boatyards that build boats
of very low standard. Most of them are thriving as a result of the high
demand for fishing craft to replace those destroyed by the tsunami. The
level of technical competence in designing and constructing FRP hulls at
most of these boatyards is unacceptably low.
Around 5000 fishers were killed by the tsunami waves in Sri Lanka,
whilst tens of thousands of others saw their houses destroyed and their
means of earning a living - their boats and nets- washed away. Close to
76 per cent of Sri Lanka's fishing fleet was affected amounting to
approximately US$36 million in damages.
FAO is assisting the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (MFAR)
to improve the quality of production of Sri Lankan boatyards through a
Naval Architect engaged with support from the Italian Civil Protection
Department. The expert boat designer set out to identify suitable
institutional arrangements and expertise required for approval of
designs and specifications and for monitoring and quality control during
the construction of the boats.
FAO's initial assessment revealed that an alarming amount of new
multi-day boat construction does not comply with internationally
acceptable boat building practices and standards. There are shocking
examples of boats cracking at sea because of inadequate thickness of the
hull.
"It is vitally important that boat building safety standards in Sri
Lanka be developed, applied, and enforced as soon as possible to ensure
the safety of the next generation of Sri Lankan boats and fishers" said
Stefano Thermes, FAO Naval Architect. FAO and MFAR are in the process of
identifying safety standards suitable to the Sri Lankan context.
The rapid acceptance and implementation of these safety standards is
crucial in order to catch increased current production in Sri Lankan
boatyards. FAO will also try to mobilise funds for training of boatyard
personnel in the design and construction of fishing boats.
FAO is the UN's coordinating agency for the rehabilitation of the
fisheries sector. Whilst FAO and the Sri Lankan government's immediate
priority following the tsunami disaster has been to get the fishers
fishing again as soon as possible, the longer-term strategy is to
improve the sector as a whole with a view to raising the incomes of
coastal communities. |