Passengers had a narrow escape when a roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferry operating in the Fort Kochi-Vypeen corridor and a double-decker tourist boat collided, off the Fort Kochi jetty on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred a few metres away from the spot where a recklessly-driven fishing trawler rammed into a ferry six years ago, resulting in the death of 10 passengers.
On Friday, there were 29 people on board the tourist boat, including 23 tourists from Maharashtra who were seated on the upper deck. The ferry had its regular share of passengers and vehicles as per its capacity, being ferried to Vypeen.
Videos of the incident show the boat coming in the way of the ferry, following which the vessels were locked together in the impact for about a minute. The ferry is subsequently reversed and steered away from the tourist boat. The footage from a CCTV installed in the ferry shows the tourist boat crossing its way, following which the two vessels collide.
Sources in Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), which operates a pair of ro-ro ferries in the corridor, said they had taken up with the Coastal Police and other stakeholders the threat posed by tourist and fishing vessels to the safe transit of regular ferries.
“The boat involved in Friday’s collision was apparently berthed near the Chinese fishing nets. It took off towards Marine Drive, despite our ferry moving towards Vypeen. Our ferries have the ‘right of way’ in the corridor, since they are much bigger and hence tough to negotiate or bring to a halt. The boat was being driven in a reckless manner. Both the local and coastal police must handle the issue seriously, to prevent such accidents. After all, the lives of passengers and crew of both vessels are at stake,” they said.
Meanwhile, the Fort Kochi police said a case had been registered against the driver of the ro-ro ferry for rash and negligent driving, based on a complaint by the tourist boat operator. Both the vessels suffered damage in the impact of the collision. KSINC officials too will file a complaint, it is learnt.
A senior Coastal Police officer said ferries had the right of way on the stretch. Moreover, small tourist boats were not permitted to go beyond the backwaters.
