104 rescued after Batam ferry hits floating object

SINGAPORE — It started off as a routine 40-minute ferry trip from the Indonesian island of Batam to Singapore yesterday (Nov 29), but things took a turn for the worse when the ferry hit an object in the water. This sparked off a mission to rescue the 97 passengers and seven crew members on board, where even nearby fishing boats gathered to help. 

It was hours before the passengers and crew, including 51 Singaporeans, were rescued and brought to shore.  

According to ferry operator BatamFast, the ferry, an Indonesia-registered vessel named Sea Prince, reported around 8pm that it had hit an object in Indonesian waters after leaving Nongsapura Ferry Terminal in Batam.  

BatamFast passenger operations manager Chua Choon Leng said the operator despatched two vessels to the site of the incident within 20 minutes, but were unable to get closer to the damaged ferry because of sea conditions. The firm then deployed smaller vessels to rescue the passengers at around 9pm. 

In the meantime, passengers on board were getting increasingly anxious. One passenger, Ms Chella Ho, shared on Facebook that the experience was traumatic, as there was little information from the crew about the incident or how to put on a life jacket.  

While the crew had apparently deployed lifeboats, the boats appeared unable to support the weight of passengers and quickly filled with water, wrote Ms Ho on Facebook, adding that panicked passengers were trying to hold on for dear life. 

Asked about these claims, Mr Chua said the lifeboats on the ferries are meant to hold up to 65 people, but declined to comment further as the operator was still trying to ascertain what happened. 

Its ferry officers were still being questioned by the Batam harbourmaster today, and will also be queried by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), he said.

The operator was also unable to say what hit the ferry’s hull at this time and what damage it caused. Asked why the object was not detected before it hit, Mr Chua said: “It was at night, around … 8pm, so it was very dark. The radar was unable to pick up (the object) also.”

The company will share more details when it has conducted its own investigations, he said. He added that talks with insurers on compensation for passengers were in their “final stages” today, and that forms would be provided to passengers seeking compensation.

All passengers and crew made it to Batam shores at around 10.10pm yesterday. Ninety-five passengers arrived at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal at about 12.20am today. The crew and two passengers remained in Batam.

The MPA said it received a report on the occurrence at about 9.45pm. It is investigating the incident.