Four passengers drowned and three are still missing when a ferry, the Seagull Express, with 106 people on board caught fire and sank while on the way to Pulau Tioman on Saturday.
MERSING- October 15, 2007: The ferry that caught fire while heading for Pulau Tioman on Saturday, leading to the death of four passengers, did not have a valid ship license and passenger certificate.
A Marine Department spokesman said the license for the Seagull Express had expired on March 16 last year, while its passenger certificate had an expiry date of March 18, 2005.
However, Seagull Express and Accommodation Sdn Bud – the operator of the ferry – has denied that the ferry did not have a valid ship license.
The department to certify that the ferry is seaworthy issues the license, which has to be renewed annually.
He said the license only allowed the vessel to leave the jetty with a maximum of 12 passengers.
To transport more people, its owners must apply for a passenger certificate. The ill-fated ferry's certificate, which has since expired, allowed it to carry up to 120 passengers and three crewmembers, he said.
The ferry had violated Section 484 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance for sailing without a ship license, and Section 218 of the same ordinance for not having a passenger certificate.
The captain registered to pilot the ferry was one Roslan Mohamad, but it is learnt that he was not on board when the incident occurred.
Met at the Seagull office, the company owner's son Law Ah Heng, who helps out in the business, said they could not alert the Marine Department about the change of captains as it was closed for Hari Raya.
He said the fire started in the ferry's engine room due to short-circuit. Law also denied that the ferry did not have a valid ship license.
All 106 had jumped overboard when the fire onboard spread. Police have identified the dead as Hoo Lee Lan, 67, from Kuala Lumpur, and Hong See Tiew, 53, and Teh Siew Lian, 52, both from Klang, and Tee Moi @ Haw Lee Moi, 68, from Batu Pahat.Rompin OCPD Deputy Supt Abdullah Sani Salat said the ferry was about seven nautical miles from Pulau Tioman, near Rompin, Pahang, when the fire started in the engine room at 12.30pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment