All 13 Singaporeans on board stranded Indonesian ferry safe
By Try Sutrisno Foo | Posted: 06 December 2012 2327 hrs
SINGAPORE: All 13 Singaporeans on board a Singapore-Tanjong Pinang ferry which ran aground off Lobam island on Wednesday night are safe.
Ferry operator Sindo Ferry and Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency, BASARNAS, gave this update in response to queries from Channel NewsAsia.
Of the 97 passengers, one Indonesian lady is still in hospital for medical attention.
The ferry, MV Sindo 31, left Singapore from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal at 6.20pm on Wednesday.
At about 8pm, Sindo Ferry (formerly known as Penguin Ferry) received a call from the captain of the vessel that the ferry had ran aground off Lobam island.
The passengers and crew were stranded for around two hours.
Before help arrived, an Indonesian woman, accompanied by two family members were sent to a nearby hospital by local maritime police for urgent medical attention.
At about 10pm, two smaller local ferries, each with a capacity of 40 people, arrived to pick up the stranded passengers.
With combined efforts by the Tanjung Uban Sea and Coast Guards and BASARNAS, the passengers were ferried to Tanjung Uban, where they boarded a standby vessel , MV Penguin 7, and arrived at Tanjong Pinang near midnight.
The stranded ferry was not damaged and is currently moored at Tanjong Uban for further investigations.
Sindo Ferry says the stranded ferry is seaworthy and it is investigating the cause of the accident.
Weather conditions and low-tide are believed to have caused the accident.
- CNA/de
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