Tag: ferries

Capsized Ferry off Zanzibar On 18 July the ferry MV Skagit was reported to be sinking off Chumbe island. The EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR) immediately redirected a Luxembourg Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA), which was conducting counter-piracy patrols closest to the location of the sinking ferry, to Dar es Salaam. From there it conducted several sorties in support of the rescue efforts.Using the aircraft's capabilities, rescue efforts were coordinated, life rafts spotted and their location tracked. With this support, Tanzanian and other vessels taking part in the rescue mission were guided to the life rafts exact locations, aiding the rescue of reportedly 145 of the ferry's passengers.The ferry was traveling from the capital city of Dar es Salaam, on mainland Tanzania on Wednesday. EU NAVFOR cannot confirm the numbers, but reportedly 290 people were on board. While the search still continues, bad weather hampers the rescue.Source: EUNAVFOR

Zanzibar ferry disaster: Hopes fade for missing

Zanzibar ferry disaster: Navy searches for survivors

Alaska investigation blames maneuvering error in ferry impact with seafood dock

Study reveals A Hong Kong conservation group said Tuesday increasing high-speed ferry traffic is contributing to a dramatic decline in Chinese white dolphin numbers in the city's waters.Research by the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society showed that catamaran and jetfoil ferry traffic is displacing dolphins from their habitats in the mouth of the Pearl River Delta."Dolphins depend on sound to survive in their environment, they are acoustic creatures," society chairman Samuel Hung said."There is a lot of noise generated from high-speed ferries... this noise creates a lot of stress for the dolphins and can change their habits."High-speed ferry traffic between Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau increased 76 percent from 1999 to 2011, according to the Hong Kong Marine Department."In particular, since the opening of six ferry services at the Sky Pier of Hong Kong International Airport in late 2003, the dolphin number has dropped dramatically in North Lantau waters," the society said in a statement.Dolphins will not hear a high-speed ferry until it is as close as 100 metres (330 feet) away, giving them only around 10 seconds to react, Hung said.As a result, dolphins were leaving their habitats and preferred feeding grounds in search of safer waters.Numbers of ...

A GBP375,000 contract for SES Marine electronics supplier Ships Electronic Services (SES) has announced that it has been awarded a GBP375,000 contract to supply all the navigation and communications equipment for two new Hybrid Ferries being built at Ferguson Shipbuilders, Port Glasgow for Caledonian Marine Assets.These will be the world's first hybrid diesel electric Ro Ro vehicle and passenger ferries to enter service, and will be operating on the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service from spring 2013.Green technologies will be incorporated throughout the ships, supplying a minimum of 20 per cent of the energy consumed on board.SES will be fitting the electronic systems for the hybrid ferries, including Furuno Radars and Transas ECDIS.A double ended heading system from Raytheon Anschütz will be installed enabling all the headings to the AIS, ECDIS and Autopilot to be changed 180 degrees, along with all the navigation lights, at the touch of a single switch."These are important vessels for the yard and show Scottish ship building at the forefront of green technology, substantially reducing fuel usage and emissions," said Richard Dean, managing director of Ferguson Shipbuilders."We are delighted to be working once again with SES who have provided exceptional service to the yard over ...

Incident investigation The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently concluded that the probable cause of a loss of propulsion control of a Staten Island Ferry two years ago was the failure of a solenoid. The accident involving the Andrew J. Barberi resulted in the ferry alliding with a pier, injuring three passengers seriously and another 47 passengers and crew reporting minor injuries. The damage to the vessel and terminal was more than $182,000.In the wake of its investigation into the accident, the NTSB has now made several safety recommendations in a recent letter to U.S. Coast Guard Commandant ADM Robert Papp.

One is the requirement is that newly built U.S.-flag passenger vessels with controllable pitch propulsion, including cycloidal propulsion, should be equipped with alarms that audibly and visually alert the operator to deviations between the operator's propulsion and steering commands and the actual propeller response.NTSB also says that "where technically feasible," these same systems should be retrofitted on existing U.S.-flag passenger vessels.

NTSB would also like the Coast Guard to require all U.S.-flag passenger vessel operators to implement safety management systems, taking into account the characteristics, methods of operation, and nature of service of these vessels, and, with respect to ferries, ...

Divers and rescue workers pull bodies from remote reach of river in Assam state Army divers and rescue workers have pulled 103 bodies out of a river after a packed ferry capsized in heavy winds and rain in a remote part of north-eastern India.At least 100 people were still missing after the boat, carrying about 350 passengers, broke into two pieces late on Monday, said Pritam Saikia, the district magistrate of Goalpara district.Deep-sea divers and soldiers worked through the night to pull bodies from the Brahmaputra river, in Assam state.Heavy winds and rain after the accident hampered rescue operations, said Tarun Gogoi, Assam's chief minister."I will be ordering an inquiry into the cause of the accident, but right now our priority is to account for every person who was on the ferry," Gogoi said.Around 150 passengers swam to safety or were rescued by villagers living nearby, said Saikia, who was supervising the rescue operations. He said 103 bodies had been pulled from the river.Divers and rescue workers with rubber rafts were searching the river for survivors amid the floating debris, which was all that remained of the ferry. The Assam ferry disaster happened close to where the river enters BangladeshOne ...

Passenger ferry Andrew J. Barberi On May 8, 2010, the 310-foot-long passenger ferry Andrew J. Barberi lost propulsion control of one its two cycloidal propellers as the vessel approached St. George terminal, Staten Island, New York. The loss of propulsion control resulted from a solenoid failure in one of the vessel's propulsion control panels. The crewmembers on board the Andrew J. Barberi were unaware that the propeller failed to respond to their commands until seconds before the ferry struck the terminal. A total of 266 persons, including 244 passengers, were on board the vessel. As a result of the accident, three passengers were seriously injured and more than 40 passengers and crew reported minor injuries.The Andrew J. Barberi, which has a capacity of nearly 6,000 passengers, was not equipped with or required to have an alarm to alert the pilothouse crewmembers to the loss of propulsion control. This type of alarm would have given the crew additional time to respond. As a result, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends that U.S. passenger vessels with controllable pitch propulsion, including cycloidal propulsion-which the Andrew J. Barberi had-be equipped with alarms that audibly and visually alert operators when the propeller fails to ...

Ships set on fire over recent PNG ferry disaster Three ships belonging to the operator of a passenger ferry that sank off Papua New Guinea last month killing as many as 200 people were torched by angry rebel elements, reports said Monday.The MV Solomon Queen and Kopra I and II were set alight Saturday by what the local Post Courier newspaper described as "ex-combatants" in protest at the sinking of the MV Rabaul Queen off the coastal city of Lae.The vessels were reportedly impounded by the former soldiers a month ago and set alight Saturday at nearby Buka Island, the newspaper said, estimating the damage at worth more than 20 million kina ($9.35 million).Peter Sharp, head of Rabaul Shipping which owns the ships, told Australian Associated Press his business "has already been impacted" and he had nothing to say to those responsible."What would you say to them in my position?" he said.According to another local newspaper, The National, "renegades" were now selling loot - particularly fuel - from the ships."The hijacking of the three ships started out as a means to get Sharp to pay compensation for the Bougainville lives lost in the Rabaul Queen tragedy," one ex-combatant told the ...