WAEC Staff, Others Missing at Sea

As the celebration of Independence Day fast approaches and people prepare to set themselves in a joyous mood, Liberians are instead beginning the week with an unfortunate report about a sinking ship with 15 or more people missing on board.  

According to the Liberia Maritime Authority reports, only 14 people including 10 Liberians survived have been rescued on the NIKO IVANKA ship.

The missing persons include staffers of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) who are feared dead. They were on their way to Maryland and Sinoe Counties to administer the upcoming West African Examination Council’s elementary exam, which starts today, Monday.

Reports indicate that after a few hours into the journey, the Niko Ivanka that began its sail from the Freeport of Monrovia on July 17 began to give unusual signals at sea.

According to the Maritime Authority, frantic effort is being exerted to rescue the 17 missing persons including the captain. 

The 11 passengers, according to the Maritime Commissioner Lenn Eugene Nagbe, were rescued on Sunday morning by the Liberia National Coast Guard with the assistance of ArcelorMittal Liberia tugboats between Marshall City and Little Buchanan, where the ship sank. 

"On July 17, 2021, at 15:51 GMT, LMA received an alert from the Liberia Coast Guard through its Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, informing about a distress situation on board Niko Ivanka. 

“The information received indicated that the vessel departed the Port of Monrovia for Harper on Saturday, July 17, 2021, at 06:00. And while sailing to Harper about six nautical miles off the Coast of Marshall City, the vessel reportedly started to take in water,” Nagbe said. 

Built locally and commissioned by Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor in 2018, the ship had been an essential transporter of goods and people to the southeast. It regularly sails between the Freeport of Monrovia to the Port of Harper -- carrying essential goods that would have been delayed in reaching the southeast due to bad road conditions.

Owned by HYLAEA INC, the ship only took four months to assemble at its hub in Marshall, Margibi County. In no time, the ship got approval from the government to sail although Liberia is not a shipbuilding country.

Considering the uncertainty surrounding its durability, NIKO IVANKA was allowed to sail on the high sea. 

The Liberia Maritime Authority, being aware that the ship was approved without any serious technical assessment, limited the ship to carrying cargo to lessen the shortages of food and basic items to the southeast. 

Meanwhile, Commissioner Nagbe said upon receiving the distress signal, the LMA and Liberia Coast Guard mobilized resources including assets and personnel, and immediately commenced search and rescue operations to attend to the distressed vessel.

Education Minister, Prof. Ansu Sonii, who also attended the press conference, said they are in consultation with WAEC and praying to discover those missing people.

Before sailing, Niko Ivanka was said to have been in a safe state, as was reportedly declared by the Inspector at the National Port Authority.