PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has agreed to the establishment of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which will act as a multi-transport mode independent accident investigation body, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
Dismissing claims that there was a delay in the establishment of the board, Liow said appropriate action was taken after the idea of setting up the NTSB was raised last year.
He said the ministry also engaged various agencies in the air, sea, road, port and railway sectors to coordinate in the setting up of the NTSB.
“After a lot of hard work, the Cabinet, in principle, approved the setting up of the NTSB. We have the support of all agencies.
“Now, we are in the midst of coming up with an act to realise the establishment of the NTSB. We will bring in the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Air Crash Investigation Bureau, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to draft the act,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.
NTSB, as a statutory body, will carry out independent investigations of accidents for all modes of transport, including land (road and rail), maritime (including river transport) and air.
Earlier, Liow launched Asia’s first marine cargo and container insurance coverage, iCargo+, for Malaysian shippers and importers. iCargo+, a hybrid marine insurance, covers cargo as well as container insurance.
Liow said the initiative by Quantum Ivory Sdn Bhd, which has developed a solution through i-Cargo+, was highly commendable.
“This will prevent potential disputes on the container damage repair cost, demurrage and detention charges which have been an ongoing issue for many years in the logistics industry,” he said. — Bernama