27-02-2025

The full human machinery and available resources of the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces (INEA) were deployed early this Thursday throughout the length and breadth of the national coastal strip, to ensure maximum safety for vacationers traveling by water to their destinations and enjoying the waterways during the 2025 Carnival holiday, as well as to contribute to the prevention of maritime, lacustrine, and fluvial accidents and incidents.

TO THAT EFFECT, A TOTAL OF 454 INEA OFFICIALS—INCLUDING ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL PERSONNEL, MARITIME POLICE, MARINE FIREFIGHTERS, AND LIFEGUARDS—ALONG WITH 183 SUPPORT STAFF AND 95 VOLUNTEERS, WERE STATIONED AT 130 CHECKPOINTS LOCATED AT FERRY TERMINALS, MARINAS, PIERS, NAVIGATION CHANNELS, BEACH RESORTS, RIVERS, AND LAKES ACROSS THE TERRITORY, TO RECEIVE USERS WHO, FROM TODAY UNTIL WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, WILL ENJOY THE HOLIDAY BREAK.

The Aquatic Authority, which has 115 means of transport (land and water), will maintain a preventive stance not only in the areas of greatest vacationer movement but also in the 18 Situation Rooms that were activated, one at the INEA headquarters in Caracas and 17 in the Port Authorities (Capitanías de Puerto) of Amazonas, Apure, Carenero, Carúpano, Ciudad Bolívar, Ciudad Guayana, Delta Amacuro, Güiria, La Ceiba, La Guaira, La Vela de Coro, Las Piedras, Maracaibo, Pampatar, Puerto Cabello, Puerto Sucre, and Puerto La Cruz.

These rooms will provide 24-hour attention and will attend to any reported situation in an opportunistic and efficient manner, all as part of an integrated effort with the citizen security agencies that converge in the Venezuelan Observatory of Civil Security (OVS).

INEA will carry out supervision and control of embarkation and disembarkation activities for ferries, “peñeros” or transport vessels, jet skis, banana boats, sport and recreational vessels, windsurfing, and kitesurfing, among others, demanding compliance with safety systems and equipment, especially the mandatory use of life jackets.

Likewise, it will provide safety talks and guidance on the rational use of aquatic spaces to users, as well as marine environmental protection and the risks associated with using unauthorized beaches. At the same time, safety recommendations for mariners will be broadcast via Maritime VHF Channel 16.

They will also constantly carry out land and water patrols and will inspect commercial establishments located along the coastal strip, as well as sports and recreational service providers.

In this manner, the Great Venezuela Transport Mission, through INEA, will address the growing mobilization of tourists recorded every year on the Venezuelan coasts during the Carnival holidays, in order to prevent and attend to emergencies, risks, or threats that may affect human life and the environment.