The use of fibreglass boats has been suggested as the magic bullet for reducing the number of fatalities on the nation's waterways by Benedict Lamptey, the managing director of Fibreglass Ghana.
With the advent of climate change and its impact on water bodies, he explained, the application of fibreglass technology would be the best technology for the country to ensure the safety of people travelling along the Volta lake/river crossing, movement in coastal sea lanes, and use of lagoons in the country.
Dive-in canoes
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mr. Lamptey stated that given the increased turbulence in rivers, lakes, and seas caused by climate change, it was time for Ghana to adopt fibreglass technology.
He lamented the growing number of recorded boat catastrophe deaths in the nation, which he attributed to the usage of dugout canoes as transportation and fishing vessels.
According to Mr. Lamptey, wooden dug-out canoes had a weaker composition when they came into contact with water, and the rising temperatures brought on by climate change caused the wood to decay quickly as a result of the absorption of water. This caused boats to capsize due to imbalances in their motions.
Focus on Fibreglass
In order to secure everyone's safety, he further urged the government and companies in the fishing and water transportation industries to prioritise the use of fibreglass boats.
"The phasing out of dug-out canoes is long overdue as it affects the reforestation drive to preserve Ghana's forest resources," he stated.
As part of its corporate social responsibility for the benefit of the maritime industry and fishing industry in Ghana, Mr. Lamptey said that Fibreglass Ghana has constructed roughly 20 fishing boats under the supervision of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority for usage along the coastal belts.
He said that a boat built by Fibreglass Ghana ferried people in Ghana's Northern and Volta regions.
cited instances
According to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), sea erosion, floods, and rainfall will all continue to worsen in Ghana and throughout sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st century.
For instance, a news article from March of this year stated that a boat crashed while carrying 100 people from Azizanya to Azizakpe in the Ada East District of the Greater Accra Region to attend a funeral.
Nine children also perished in an incident this month in Faana Bortianor, in the Greater Accra Region, when the boat they were being transported on overturned.
architectural flaws
Captain Kwame Osei, the Chief Engineer of Fibreglass Ghana, expressed his regret for the mounting mortality tolls, particularly those of the most vulnerable children.
It is regrettable to observe that, for many years, no year has gone by without a calamity in settlements around the Volta Lake, including Dambai, Abotoase, Kpedzi, Tsevi, and Agyatakope, he continued.
According to Captain Osei, the structural design of dug-out canoes had flaws in the construction of body pieces covering the keel, hull, and beam, which impact buoyancy and stability and make it easy to lose balance and capsize in difficult weather conditions.
arduous tests
He said that locally built canoes and watercraft made by Fibreglass Ghana had completed rigorous tests in adverse weather circumstances without losing their stability and robustness, and collision with diverse objects entrenched in water bodies could not obstruct their motions.
Capt. Osei said that Fibreglass Ghana has created a tracking system technology in partnership with Ing. Prof. Kwame Ardiabah of Final Vision Technology in Canada.
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