Indonesian ferry carrying 45 people runs aground at Pulau Tekong

Channel NewsAsia 10 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE: A ferry carrying 45 people ran aground at Pulau Tekong within Singapore port waters on Monday (Jul 9), according to a Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) press release.

MPA said it received a report at about 11.40pm that the Indonesian-flagged ferry Sri Kandi 99 had run aground on a rock bund at the southern tip of Pulau Tekong.

The ferry was making a return trip from Panama-registered passenger vessel Aegean Paradise, anchored south of Pengerang, Johor, to Pasir Gudang, Johor when the incident happened.

It was carrying 34 passengers - 33 Malaysians and one Vietnamese - as well as 11 Indonesian crew members at the time.

"All 45 people on board were safe and accounted for," said MPA.

The passengers were transferred to another ferry, Camara Samudra, and disembarked at Tanjong Pengelih, Johor at 5.15am. Crew members are assisting with investigations.

There were no reports of injury or oil pollution, said MPA, adding that the owner is making arrangements to "re-float" the ferry.

MPA is investigating the incident.

Source: CNA/nc

All 45 aboard Indonesia-flagged ferry stranded off Pulau Tekong rescued by Police Coast Guard
Cheow Sue-Ann Straits Times 10 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE - All 45 passengers and crew on board an Indonesia-flagged ferry which had run aground in Singapore waters late on Monday night (July 9) were rescued by the Police Coast Guard in an operation.

Crew Commander Lee Kuan Seng, 37, of PT78, one of three Police Coast Guard vessels activated for the rescue at the southern tip of Pulau Tekong, said the operation was a tricky one as the ferry, Sri Kandi 99, was at risk of capsizing and visibility was low.

“The closeness to shore meant that we too ran a risk of being grounded ourselves,” he added.



To complicate matters, the accident occurred on reclaimed land, which meant that land vehicles could not directly access the area, he said.

He and his crew of five, using night vision technology and searchlights, found that five people were stuck in the ferry, which was listing to one side.

Mr Lee said: “We carefully aligned our vessel to theirs, so that these five individuals, who did not know how to swim, could simply walk over to our vessel.”

Meanwhile, the other two rescue vessels were attending to 40 of the ferry’s passengers and crew who had made it to shore.

The ferry was stranded near Pulau Tekong during low tide after it had collided with rocks along the island.

The 45 people aboard the ferry were made up of 33 Malaysian and one Vietnamese passengers and 11 Indonesian crew members.

Police Coast Guard officer Syed Abu Bakar, 38, a trained emergency medical technician, said two men sustained light injuries. One man suffered a neck abrasion while another was bruised in his left leg.

However, he said that due to the shock and the cold, some people were crying and shivering, especially some of the more elderly victims.

“But when we spoke to them and told them who we were, and that they were in safe hands, they really calmed down. We were able to distribute water and some rations while waiting for a vessel to pick them up.”

The ferry was making a return trip from Panama-registered passenger cruise liner Aegean Paradise, which was anchored south of Pengerang, Johor. The ferry was making a short trip between the cruise liner and Pasir Gudang, Johor, when the incident occurred.

The passengers were subsequently transferred to another ferry, Camara Samudra, and disembarked at Tanjong Pengelih, Johor at 5.15am on Tuesday.

All 45 of them are safe and at their destination.

The ferry's crew members are assisting with investigations.


All 45 aboard Indonesia-flagged ferry stranded off Pulau Tekong rescued by Police Coast Guard
Cheow Sue-Ann Straits Times 10 Jul 18;

SINGAPORE - All 45 passengers and crew on board an Indonesia-flagged ferry which had run aground in Singapore waters late on Monday night (July 9) were rescued by the Police Coast Guard in an operation.

Crew Commander Lee Kuan Seng, 37, of PT78, one of three Police Coast Guard vessels activated for the rescue at the southern tip of Pulau Tekong, said the operation was a tricky one as the ferry, Sri Kandi 99, was at risk of capsizing and visibility was low.

"The closeness to shore meant that we too ran a risk of being grounded ourselves," he added.

To complicate matters, the accident occurred on reclaimed land, which meant that land vehicles could not directly access the area, he said.

He and his crew of five, using night vision technology and searchlights, found that five people were stuck in the ferry, which was listing to one side.

Mr Lee said: "We carefully aligned our vessel to theirs, so that these five individuals, who did not know how to swim, could simply walk over to our vessel."

Meanwhile, the other two rescue vessels were attending to 40 of the ferry's passengers and crew who had made it to shore.

All 45 aboard Indonesia-flagged ferry stranded off Pulau Tekong rescued by Police Coast Guard

The ferry was stranded near Pulau Tekong during low tide after it had collided with rocks along the island.

The 45 people aboard the ferry were made up of 33 Malaysian and one Vietnamese passengers and 11 Indonesian crew members.

Police Coast Guard officer Syed Abu Bakar, 38, a trained emergency medical technician, said two men sustained light injuries. One man suffered a neck abrasion while another was bruised in his right leg.

However, he said that due to the shock and the cold, some people were crying and shivering, especially some of the more elderly victims.

"But when we spoke to them and told them who we were, and that they were in safe hands, they really calmed down. We were able to distribute water and some rations while waiting for a vessel to pick them up."

The ferry was making a return trip from Panama-registered passenger cruise liner Aegean Paradise, which was anchored south of Pengerang, Johor. The ferry was making a short trip between the cruise liner and Pasir Gudang, Johor, when the incident occurred.

The passengers were subsequently transferred to another ferry, Camara Samudra, and disembarked at Tanjong Pengelih, Johor at 5.15am on Tuesday.

All 45 of them are safe and at their destination.

The ferry's crew members are assisting with investigations.

Indonesian ferry runs aground at Pulau Tekong
Dhanya Lingesh The New Paper 11 Jul 18;

An Indonesian-flagged ferry, Sri Kandi 99, ran aground on a rock bund at the southern tip of Pulau Tekong late on Monday night.

There were 34 passengers - 33 Malaysians and one Vietnamese - and 11 Indonesian crew members on board.

According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the ferry was making a return trip from Panama-registered passenger vessel Aegean Paradise, anchored south of Pengerang in Johor, to Pasir Gudang, Johor, when the incident occurred.

Police Coast Guard (PCG) crew commander, Station Inspector (SI) Lee Kuan Seng, 37, was on duty on patrol boat PT 78, when he noticed the boat in distress on his surveillance system at 11.38pm.

He immediately approached the boat to offer assistance.

SI Lee also alerted MPA and called for reinforcements.

Most of the passengers and crew managed to wade to shore, but five passengers - a woman and four men - remained trapped on the boat.

SI Lee said: "The first thing that concerned me was if anyone was trapped in the water. It was so dark and we could not tell. I had to use (night-vision instruments) to check the surface of the water before I could approach the ferry."

He manoeuvred his patrol boat alongside the ferry to allow the trapped passengers to safely cross over to the patrol boat.

SI Syed Abu Bakar, 38, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), was on the third patrol boat to arrive at the scene.

SI Bakar said: "I could not immediately tell the severity of their injuries and this was challenging as I could only assume the worst until I arrived at the scene and assessed the injured."

Two male passengers suffered minor injuries, including abrasions to the neck and right thigh. But all 45 occupants were accounted for.

SI Bakar tended to the two wounded men.

He said: "Thankfully, what I initially thought was a fractured right leg turned out to be a bruise.

"It was all about prioritising the injuries and responding quickly to make sure everyone was safe."

The passengers were given water and biscuits while they waited on shore.

According to MPA, they were later transferred to another ferry, Camara Samudra, and disembarked at Tanjong Pengelih, Johor, at 5.15am.

SI Lee said: "The way my crew responded to the incident was very admirable. With our training, we knew exactly what to do and focus on saving lives."


Ferry runs aground at southern tip of Pulau Tekong
MPA media release 10 July 2018

At 11.42pm on 9 July 2018, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore received a report that an Indonesian-flagged ferry, SRI KANDI 99, ran aground on a rock bund at the southern tip of Pulau Tekong, within Singapore port waters.

2 The ferry was making a return trip from Panama-registered passenger vessel “AEGEAN PARADISE”, anchored south of Pengerang, Johor, to Pasir Gudang, Johor when she ran aground. She was carrying 34 passengers (33 Malaysians and 1 Vietnamese) and 11 Indonesian crew. All 45 people onboard were safe and accounted for. The passengers were subsequently transferred to another ferry, CAMARA SAMUDRA, and disembarked at Tanjong Pengelih, Johor at 5.15am. The crew are assisting with the investigations.

3 There are no reports of injury or oil pollution. The owner is making arrangements to re-float the ferry.

4 MPA is investigating the incident.