Tag: ferries

All 300 passengers were rescued An evacuation of 300 passengers during a ferry fire emergency could have been a "major disaster", a rescued traveller says.Passengers on the Auckland-to-Waiheke ferry were rescued in the Hauraki Gulf last night from the single-hulled Jet Raider, known to commuters as the "Vomit Comet".Ferry company Fullers had put the passengers on the "spare boat" to free up its more comfortable craft for a charter.But the boat stopped between Motutapu and Motuihe islands after fire alarms sounded. Crew doused the engine room in foam and set the anchor.The StarFlyte ferry was nearby and was called upon to evacuate the passengers. It did so with no gangways between boats, forcing passengers to hop the gap from one to the other.Waiheke Island resident Hans Versluys, a 52-year-old television programmer, said: "If this had happened with a stronger nor'easter, it had the potential of being a major disaster - the Motuihe reef was quite close by."Jet Raider was notorious with regular ferry passengers who called it the "Tomb Raider" and the "Vomit Comet", he said."They haven't bought a new ferry for ages now."Waiheke resident Kevin White said StarFlyte pulled up next to Jet Raider shortly after he heard an ...

Ninety-three people were rescued An overcrowded ferry has sunk off eastern Indonesia, killing at least 10 people, police said, as search-and-rescue teams scoured the choppy waters.Ninety-three people were rescued, but officials feared others were trapped inside the sunken vessel, said Brigadier General Sigit Sudarmanto, a police chief on Sulawesi island.The Windu Karsa, travelling from the town of Bajoe Bone to Kolaka, went down just after midnight in waters off southern Sulawesi as many passengers were sleeping.Survivors told investigators that the ship capsized hours after a leak was discovered in the rear."Many of those pulled from the water were not wearing life jackets," Sudarmanto said. "They just had on pajamas or sarongs."Two of the dead were children, he said.It's not clear how many people were aboard the ship.The manifest - generally unreliable in Indonesia because tickets are sold onboard to passengers who are never registered - listed only 57 passengers and 20 crew, Sudarmanto said.Many were heading home to celebrate the end of the Islamic fasting month, Ramadan, said Reppind, chief of the search-and-rescue operation.He said six ships and one speedboat were at the scene, but that high waves were hampering their rescue efforts.Reppind, like many Indonesians, goes by only one ...

The captain got stuck in the bathroom because of a jammed lock A Finnish ferry has run aground while its captain was stuck in the bathroom.One member of staff managed to slow the island-hopping tourist ferry down, but the vessel, carrying 54 passengers, slammed onto a rock near the shore of Helsinki, the Finnish coastguard said Friday.The captain got stuck in the bathroom because of a jammed lock and yelled for help, the coastguard said.Some passengers were bruised and tableware was broken in the incident. The coastguard is investigating whether the captain's actions amounted to criminal endangerment."He was stuck in the toilet. As soon as the staff member got the door open, it was too late," said Jan Sundell, head of investigation.Source: Reuters

Big ferry firms fund EU and IMO lobbying post Global ferry operators' association Interferry is opening a Brussels office with a full-time specialist for European Union and IMO activities. It says the move is a bid to boost the ferry industry's voice on maritime policy and regulations. Interferry has had consultative status at IMO since 2003.Five major European members of the worldwide trade association - Brittany Ferries, DFDS, Grimaldi Group, P&O Ferries and Stena Line - have guaranteed start-up funding for the initiative.Johan Roos, director of sustainability at Sweden's Stena group since 2006, will join Interferry as executive director of EU and IMO affairs in September, working from an office within the Brussels HQ of the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA).Interferry's Canada-based CEO Len Roueche says: "This is a landmark in our 36-year history and takes us to a new level in raising our influence on the industry's global governance. We need real input on safety and environmental issues to avoid having potentially ruinous decisions dumped on us. "He adds: "We have had some lobbying successes - such as changes to the High Speed Craft Code - through our IMO consultative status and as members of BIMCO and the International ...

A new green ship design is being developed Southampton, U.K., based BMT Nigel Gee Ltd. has won an order to design a 25 m, all-electric, 150 passenger ferry in China.A new green ship design is being developed to demonstrate the practical use of a battery powered ferry in estuarial and coastal waters where marine transportation is a viable alternative to land-based transport. BMT has been tasked with providing the design based on its innovative design capability and its proven low resistance hull form technology which is currently in use in many low wash catamaran ferries. In addition to the fundamental naval architecture design, BMT will develop the layout and styling of the vessel to provide an elegant, yet simple design that reflects the vessel's modern green credentials and practical functionality as a passenger ferry. The design uses a proven catamaran hull form with VRB (vanadium redox batteries) batteries providing the power to the electric drive motors, which will achieve a 10 knot service speed. Solar cells incorporated into the roof structure will top up the batteries whilst the vessel is in use.Construction of the vessel will start by the middle of 2011 with trials and delivery by mid-2012.Commenting on the ...

Interferry is opening a Brussels office Interferry is opening a Brussels office with a full-time specialist for European Union and IMO activities in a bid to strengthen the ferry industry's voice on maritime policy and regulations.Start-up funding for the initiative has been guaranteed by five major European members of the worldwide trade association - Brittany Ferries, DFDS, Grimaldi Group, P&O Ferries and Stena Line.Johan Roos, director of sustainability at Sweden's Stena group since 2006, will join Interferry as executive director of EU and IMO affairs in September, working from an office within the Brussels HQ of the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA).Interferry's Canada-based CEO Len Roueche says: "This is a landmark in our 36-year history and takes us to a new level in raising our influence on the industry's global governance. We need real input on safety and environmental issues to avoid having potentially ruinous decisions dumped on us."We have had some lobbying successes - such as changes to the High Speed Craft Code - through our IMO consultative status and as members of BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping. However, it's been clear for some time that we required dedicated cover of the EU and the IMO in ...

No one was seriously hurt The master of a passenger ferry did not see a dinghy before the boats collided off a NSW central coast beach, the ferry service says.Five people from the three-metre aluminium runabout, including a five-year-old child, were thrown into the water. No one was seriously hurt.The collision between the ferry Silver Spirit, operated by FantaSea's Palm Beach Ferry Service, and the dinghy occurred about 500 metres from Ettalong Beach about 6.30pm.Palm Beach Ferry Service's general manager, Matthew Lloyd, said the ferry had just gone past Half Tide Rocks and was "powering up" as it moved towards Wagstaff Point when the boats crashed into each other."The small dinghy was not visible to the ferry master until it was too late to avoid a collision," Mr Lloyd said in a statement."The crew of the ferry reacted very quickly in deploying floatation devices and all of the people were removed from the water within minutes of the incident."The ferry took those who were rescued to the wharf, where they were assessed by paramedics, a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said.No one was taken to hospital.Mr Lloyd said his company was co-operating fully with NSW Maritime's investigation into the incident.Palm Beach Ferry ...

All passengers are evacuated safely A passenger ferry transporting approximately 300 passengers was leaving İzmir's Konak dock for Karşıyaka when it hit the lighthouse off of Konak Pier. All passengers were evacuated safely.According to its route, the ferry was supposed to pass in front of the lighthouse but hit it on its starboard side. The reason for its change in route has not yet been determined.After hitting the lighthouse, the ferry immediately began to take on water. Though difficult, Cpt. Abdurrahman Özdemir was able to return the ferry to Konak Pier. The 300 passengers were evacuated with no injuries and deaths resulting from the accident. Police arrived at the scene and kept passengers and passers-by away from the pier.The ferry sank shortly thereafter. The alleged cause of the accident was the locking up of the rudder.Experts said that major factors to consider in the 59-year-old ferry's accident are its age and metal fatigue. Ferries in this condition should be scrapped and replaced with newer models, the experts emphasized.Source: Sunday's Zaman

More than 20 people are still missing Rescuers have recovered eight bodies from a ferry that sank after it collided with an oil tanker in a river near Bangladesh's capital, a police official said Thursday. Local media said more than 20 people were still missing.Local police official Shahidul Islam said the M.V. Madinar Alo sank late Wednesday on the River Shitalakkhya near Char Muktapur while it was moving toward Narayanganj district from neighboring Chandpur district.Islam would not say if there was any missing. ATN Bangla television station reported at least 22 people remained missing on Thursday.The official said a salvage ship recovered the sunken ferry overnight and they called off their search.Ferry accidents, mainly blamed on overloading and lax rules, are common in Bangladesh, a South Asian delta nation with more than 230 rivers.Source: AP

102 people rescued The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 98 passengers and four crew members who were aboard a ferry that ran aground in the U.S. Virgin Islands.Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad says five people were injured after the Royal Miss Belmar struck a reef near the island of St. Thomas late Monday.Castrodad said in a statement Tuesday that the agency is helping investigate what caused the incident, and will help remove the ferry, which remains afloat.Source: ABC News