Industry News
Interferry Member News Release
Dec 11, 2009
Solas 2009 Ro-Pax Vessels Could Have Safety Defects
Dec 9, 2009
From Lloyd’s List
Ships built to the latest SOLAS 2009 standards could have alarming safety deficiencies, according to tests carried out on behalf of the European Union. Stability tests using models of ro-pax vessels have revealed significant safety risks, including the risk of capsizing when damaged. Simulations led by Hamburg-based HSVA on two sizes of ro-pax vessels predicted “too low survivability” if the ships were damaged, even if seas were relatively calm.
“The present investigation of the two ro-pax vessels shows that in the framework of the new probabilistic damage stability rules (SOLAS 2009) for passenger ships built from January 1, 2009, it is possible to create ship designs with significant deficits with regard to safety,” researchers concluded. They continued: “In view of this, it is difficult to come into any other conclusion than the ship stability required by the SOLAS 2009 rules is not likely to be sufficient in all cases. Corrective action should be taken to amend the SOLAS 2009 rules.”
P & O - UK Ferry Company of the Year
Dec 9, 2009
From Dover Mercury
P & O Ferries has picked up this year’s British Travel Awards titles of Best Short Sea Ferry Operator, Best Cross-Channel Operator and Cross-Channel Operator of the Year for 2009. The clean sweep of titles led to P & O Ferries being awarded the overall title of Ferry Company of the Year for the third successive year. These travel industry “Oscars” are voted for by the travel trade and the travelling public in the UK.
Another Bangladesh Disaster
Dec 4, 2009
From Lloyd’s List
Dozens of people have been killed in Bangladesh after an overcrowded ferry carrying nearly 100 passengers capsized following a collision with a motor launch. The casualty occurred near Kishoreganj, about 150 km east of the capital Dhaka. So far 43 bodies have been found. [According to police, the boats struck each other on a bend in the river in foggy conditions.]
The incident comes after another ferry disaster last week. Rescue efforts have now been called off, with 87 bodies found and dozens still missing. The triple-decker Coco was carrying nearly 1,500 people.
Bangladesh Ferry Capsizes at Dock
Nov 28, 2009
From Associated Press
A triple-deck ferry packed with hundreds of travelers heading home for an Islamic festival capsized as they disembarked in southern Bangladesh, leaving at least 37 dead and scores missing. M.V. Coco, traveling from the capital Dhaka, went down late Friday as it arrived at Nazirhat town, 104 kilometers to the south. Some survivors said the boat hit a river shoal as it approached the terminal, breaking the hull and allowing water in. As passengers scrambled to disembark, the vessel then tipped and partially sank in the Tetulia River.
The ferry was crowded with people heading home to celebrate the Eid al-Adha festival, but it is unclear how many were on board. Dhaka's private ETV television station said the ferry was carrying more than 1,500 people but many had already disembarked when the vessel went down. The ferry had a sanctioned capacity of 1,000 passengers, police officials said.
Interferry Member News Releases
Nov 27, 2009
Attica Group Issues New Shares
Viking Line Wins Finnish Quality Award
Dubai World in Debt Freeze
Nov 26, 2009
From Lloyd’s List
The Dubai government revealed today that it is to ask creditors of Dubai World, which has debts in the order of $59bn, to agree a debt freeze as it restructures the state-owned holding company. The news sparked fears that Dubai is in danger of default, and led to sharp falls in stocks exchanges across both Europe and Asia. Markets in the US were closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Dubai World’s shock call for a debt moratorium will not see restructuring at its subsidiary, DP World multinational port division. However, the impact on the P&O Ferries business was not immediately clear. A source at P&O Ferries said that the news had broken without warning, and that employees only know what they have read in the media about the development. However, he pointed out that the operation is autonomous and self-financing, so there is no automatic reason to fear that it will be directly hit.