John Wilbert & Saurabh Singh
Port Blair, Sept 09: It is a matter of great concern that presently there are no Inland Vessel Surveyors in the Port Management Board, A&N Islands, as a result, a large number of boats, coming under IV permit, are non-operational and are awaiting Survey. Because of non operational boats a large number of Islanders are unable to operate their boats while many have become jobless.
Tourism being the backbone of these Islands’ economy, thousands of local youths depend on these boats for their livelihood but now for the last nearly three months many have already lost their jobs.
Most of the boat owners and other people involved in this industry have availed loans for purchasing the boats, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have already suffered a major setback and now this surveyor’s issue is making the situation further worse for the owners.
According to the sources, currently, there is a need of at least five IV surveyors for the smooth operation of the boats and also for the mandatory annual safety survey of the boats.
When Andaman Sheekha contacted the Chief Port Administrator, PMB, he informed that PMB has already taken up this matter with the A&N Administration and started the recruitment process on a contract basis.
He said that to engage the Inland Vessel Chief Surveyor (01 posts) and Inland Vessel Surveyor (02 posts) will be recruited by the Port Management Board on a contract basis for a period of one year to manage the statutory functions of the survey of vessels registered under A&N Inland Vessels Rules 2016 and other small boats/Crafts being operated in A&N Islands.
“Certificates of educational qualifications and other testimonials for verification will be carried out on 19th September 2022 and the selection process for the posts will be held on 20th September 2022. If everything goes smoothly within this month surveyors will be appointed and soon they will start the survey works”, he assured.
