The crime of negligence

In the early hours of December 24, the deadliest launch fire in Bangladesh's history wreaked havoc on the launch MV Abhijan 10, burning so many people alive; as of December 28 afternoon, the death toll from the tragedy stood at 42, with more than 50 people still missing. According to reports in this daily, more than 50 passengers out of the 100 who sustained burn injuries are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Dhaka and Barishal. Among them, 15 critically injured patients were admitted to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka. Three of them are now on life support.

The gruesome details of negligence, indifference and inefficiency of the crew members of MV Abhijan 10—as well as others in positions of authority—have been the highlights of news reports published over the past few days. From these reports, what we understand is that there are three parties that should be held accountable for this tragedy: 1) The master and staffers of the launch, whose inefficiency and negligence caused the fatal fire; 2) The owners of the launch who didn't bother to comply with any of the rules regarding the operation of water vessels; and 3) the Department of Shipping and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), who did not play their parts by monitoring and inspecting the vessel and suspending its operation.

Although investigations are in progress to find out the exact reasons for the fire, primary inquiries done by the probe committees have identified faulty engines to be the main reason. Reportedly, the two engines of the launch were replaced with ones bigger in size last month, without getting approval from the Department of Shipping. Among them, only one was running on the night of the fire. What the probe committees have found is that the engine overheated due to a lack of lubrication, which might have caused the fire. Other factors that might have helped the fire spread so quickly include an illegally modified engine room and a kitchen next to it, and the barrels of fuel and gas cylinders stored in there. Apparently, all the changes to the vessel were made without taking approval from the authorities concerned.

Many other irregularities and violations of rules were found as well. The launch owners reportedly appointed masters and other crew members without the approval of the authorities; on the night of the fire, the launch was being driven by two second class masters instead of a first class one. Also, they didn't have the necessary fire safety equipment, nor were its crew members trained on fire safety. Moreover, there were around a thousand passengers on board while the launch should have had 420 passengers at night, as per the rules.

Then comes the issue of inefficiency and negligence of the crew members. According to a report published in this daily on December 26, nothing was done right by the launch crew from the moment MV Abhijan 10 left Dhaka for Barguna on the evening of December 23. Although the crew noticed that the engine was acting strange, they kept the vessel moving without fixing the problem. And when people on the bottom floor felt the deck getting hotter—after it left the Barishal launch terminal at around 1:30am—the master still kept the launch sailing towards its destination. According to a member of the probe committee, it should have been an easy task for the crew members to identify and resolve the engine issue. But apparently, they didn't bother to check the engine.

And what did they do when the entire launch was engulfed with fire, with hundreds of passengers crying for help? They steered the launch to the bank of Sugandha River in the Charkathi area of Jhalakathi district, and fled without mooring it. Had they moored it to a tree in the area, there could have been much fewer casualties. What is even more shocking is the fact that the launch crew kept the main gate closed during the fire, limiting the passengers' chances to escape.

The extent of apathy and negligence that the launch masters and staffers showed towards the passengers' lives is incredible—and nothing short of a criminal offence. Legal action must be taken against them without any delay.

But while we demand punishment of the launch owners and crew members for this man-made tragedy, we must also hold the Department of Shipping and the BIWTA authorities accountable. If the owners of the launch are at fault for replacing the engines, changing the masters and crew members, and modifying their vessel without the authorities' approval, the shipping authorities and the BIWTA are also at fault for not inspecting the vessel that was operating on this river route regularly.

The common excuse that we hear from the BIWTA and the Department of Shipping is that they don't have enough manpower to inspect all the water vessels in operation. Reportedly, the BIWTA has only 25 traffic inspectors across the country, seven of whom are deployed at Sadarghat in Dhaka, while the Department of Shipping has a total of 18 inspectors—only one of them stationed at Sadarghat. Besides, there are only six surveyors in the shipping department to survey around 14,000 registered vessels across the country. The question that arises here is: What is stopping them from recruiting more inspectors and surveyors to cover the inspection and monitoring of all the active water vessels?

In the absence of proper monitoring and inspection, the number of unregistered and unfit vessels are increasing in our waterways, with unskilled and novice sailors running them, leading to many tragedies like the MB Abhijan one. The MV Mayur accident on June 29, 2020 is still fresh in our memory, where 34 people died as the launch hit a small water vessel in the Buriganga River.

Furthermore, the issue of fire safety is always overlooked by the authorities as well as those working in the sector. Reportedly, while many water vessels in the country have lifts, well-furnished rooms, Wi-Fi, radio communication and modern gadgets, they hardly have any fire safety equipment. According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Barishal, no fire drill for the crews of water vessels has taken place in the last four years.

The responsibility to ensure that all the water transports are compliant with fire safety regulations also falls on the Department of Shipping and the BIWTA. When will they start playing their parts?

It is good news that a case has been filed with the marine court by an inspector of the Department of Shipping against the four owners of MV Abhijan 10 and eight others, and the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has already arrested Hamjalal Sheikh, one of the launch owners. We hope that the rest of the owners and the crew members will be arrested soon. All of those who are guilty of this crime must be arrested and punished, as well as those in authority who failed to do the job they have been recruited for. However, given the inefficiency of the marine court and its dismal case disposal record—only one case has been disposed of by the court in the last four years—can we really expect them to ensure justice for the victims of this massive tragedy?

Naznin Tithi is a member of the editorial team at The Daily Star.