appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Mary Ann Benitez

An outlying island ferry struck a barrier at a typhoon shelter in Hong Kong shortly after midnight on Monday, with passengers recalling being jolted and struggling to retrieve life jackets as they were stranded on the vessel for more than an hour.
The small crowd was returning home on Mother’s Day on Sunday and caught the last ferry to Mui Wo at 12.30am the next day from Central ferry pier No 6.
But about 25 minutes later at 12.55am, the First Ferry VI vessel crashed into the Hei Ling Chau typhoon shelter barrier.
Rescuers transferred all the commuters to a rescue boat at around 2.10am, before moving them to a second vessel that reached Mui Wo ferry pier 20 minutes later, according to passengers.
A passenger named Zoie told the South China Morning Post that she was “jolted off” her seat during the collision.
“We hit the seats in front of us,” she said. “The impact was quite hard. We could hear and feel the boat creaking [because] the boat was mounted on the barrier.”
Some passengers said a tracking app showed the boat was moving at speeds of between 28 and 30mph (45 to 48km/h) throughout the trip before the crash.
A Marine Department spokeswoman said in a reply to the SCMP that an investigation was ongoing.
She said the department received a report at around 1am on Monday that a ferry vessel had run aground off the waters of the Hei Ling Chau typhoon shelter.
“Upon receiving the report, the Marine Department immediately dispatched vessels to the scene,” she said.
The department did not reply to questions about how fast the ferry was going before it hit the breakwater, or whether it deviated from its course, as some sources alleged.
None of the passengers was injured or required hospitalisation, the department added.


“Damage was sustained to the port side of the ferry vessel, but no water ingress or oil spillage was detected,” it said. “The shipowner is now arranging to remove the vessel.
“The Marine Department will continue to investigate the incident.”
Two passengers had sat at the back of the ferry initially, but changed positions after the crash.
“The boat was sinking back end first, so we moved to the front,” Zoie said.
Asked if the crew told them to put on life jackets immediately after the crash, another passenger named Alysia said she promptly wanted to wear one.
“We crashed, but I couldn’t get the life jacket out from under the seat and nobody else was doing it, and nobody announced anything,” she said.
Eventually the crew asked the passengers – mostly in their twenties to fifties – to put on life jackets at around 1.30am.
“Even the crew struggled to get the life jacket out of my seat; they had to get it from a different seat,” Alysia said.

When rescuers arrived, they transferred the passengers to one rescue boat, she said, adding that she took a video of the ferry at 2.02am from their first rescue boat.
When the passengers were transferred to the second rescue boat, they were offered Gatorade. The rescued passengers reached Mui Wo ferry pier at around 2.30am.
The Marine Department said that “according to our records, there had been no similar incidents involving ferry vessels this year prior to this incident”.
Ferry operator Sun Ferry Services Company Limited has yet to reply.
A Fire Services Department spokesman told the SCMP that rescuers arrived at the scene in under 30 minutes.
“We received the call at 1.07am. We arrived at the scene at 1.33am,” he said, adding that 29 passengers were brought to Mui Wo Ferry Harbour.
All of them were uninjured.
Ferries from Central Pier No 6 to Mui Wo take about 35 to 40 minutes on a fast ferry and 50 to 60 minutes on an ordinary ferry.


Smoking ban at construction sites must be implemented without delay

10 Hong Kong students hurt as self-heating hotpot pack explodes in classroom

Hong Kong taxi driver arrested after crash kills woman, badly injures another

10 injured in truck-bus crash outside Hong Kong shopping centre

Accidents and personal safety in Hong Kong

Ferry passengers stranded over an hour after vessel hits typhoon shelter barrier

The vessel hit the Hei Ling Chau typhoon shelter barrier on Monday morning. Photo: David Sutton

Rescuers transfer passengers to first rescue boat. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong-Macau ferry fares to increase by up to 11% amid fuel costs surge

Ferry operators TurboJet and Cotai Water Jet, who run daily services between Hong Kong and Macau will be increasing fares by up to 11 per cent. Photo: Nora Tam

Chief Executive John Lee. Photo: Eugene Lee

Councillors oppose ferry fare rises for Hong Kong’s outlying island routes

Passengers disembark from a ferry arriving at Central. Photo: Sun Yeung

Islands District Council members discuss the fare adjustment proposal for six key ferry routes. Photo: Edith Lin

News

Hong Kong

Society

Authorities say all passengers were rescued and unharmed after crash involving Mui Wo-bound First Ferry VI vessel


Authorities say all passengers were rescued and unharmed after crash involving Mui Wo-bound First Ferry VI vessel.


Hong Kong transport

Marine Department

Ferry passengers stranded over an hour after vessel hits typhoon shelter barrier

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Authorities say all passengers were rescued and unharmed after crash involving Mui Wo-bound First Ferry VI vessel

Authorities say all passengers were rescued and unharmed after crash involving Mui Wo-bound First Ferry VI vessel