We are shocked by the news of yet another launch capsize that took place in the Shitalakkhya river in Narayanganj late Sunday. At least 27 people reportedly drowned after a cargo ship rammed through the Munshiganj-bound passenger boat, leading it to capsize. The launch, named Sabit Al Hasan, was reportedly carrying nearly 50 passengers when it was hit near an under-construction bridge. The remaining passengers managed to swim to shore. The ship responsible for the collision, we are told, still remains untraced, as the authorities scramble to present an accurate account of what happened, and why.

This is the latest disaster for a country haunted by regular maritime accidents. One may still recall the horrors of the launch capsize in Buriganga River on June 29 last year, which occurred after a collision with a ferry, leading to the deaths of 34 passengers. Those who thought the sheer number of casualties would be enough to bring discipline to this unruly sector were in for a rude awakening when another boat, carrying 30-35 passengers, sank following a collision with a stone-laden barge in Karnaphuli River in mid-February, killing at least three. The manner in which such accidents keep happening—with heavy casualties inflicted almost every time—is deeply disconcerting. Every time, we see a routine reaction from the authorities: probe committees are formed (as they were this time, too), "carelessness" of the vessel operators is blamed, and compensation for the victims is promised. But no substantive reforms are undertaken to check such accidents.

Experts have often cited a number of reasons for the launch disasters in Bangladesh, including faulty designs, structural weaknesses, lack of adequate safety measures, weaknesses in inspection procedures, obtaining of fitness certificates through unfair means, overcrowding, disregard for weather forecasts, and of course, negligence and carelessness of the ship's crew. No doubt the latest probe committees will also highlight one or two of these reasons—and those responsible should be detained and punished according to law—but whether or not this will lead to a significant reform necessary for safe maritime transport is uncertain. Unless the authorities overseeing maritime transport, especially Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), overhaul the sector and address the bigger issues of corruption and accountability to check their own inefficiencies and failures, such accidents will recur. 

Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of the Shitalakkhya launch capsize. No words of consolation or monetary compensation can make up for the wanton loss of lives and the agony of those who have lost their loved ones. The government must answer for these deaths, and for why it has been consistently failing to provide safety to the maritime passengers. Without significant reforms in how this sector is run, we may never be rid of the scourge of preventable maritime accidents.