HCM CITY  --  All high-speed composite ferries operating on the Bạch Đằng – Cần Giờ - Vũng Tàu route will undergo inspection and vessel verification following a ferry accident on April 8, according to the owner of the Greenlines ferry service.

A high-speed Greenlines DP C3 ferry, which began operating in April 2016, sank near the Tắc Suất Wharf in Cần Giờ District on April 8. All high-speed ferry services were suspended after the ferry accident. 

Trần Song Hải, director of the Greenlines DP company, said the possible cause was a gearbox failure in the ferry’s engine, causing water to flow into the cabin.

Hải said that all high-speed composite ferries would be inspected before resuming operation...

The Greenlines’ high-speed ferries DP C4 and DP C5 have also suspended service. All of the high-speed ferries are new vessels that are periodically maintained, he said.

Trần Quang Lâm, the deputy director of the city’s Department of Transport, said the Greenlines DP Company had promptly dealt with the accident and avoided an oil spill incident. Forty-two passengers aboard were able to safely disembark.

The ferry that sank on Sunday morning was lifted out of the sea on the afternoon of the same day for further investigation.

The accident occurred around 8:30am on Sunday as the ferry was travelling from Vũng Tàu to Tắc Suất terminal in HCM City’s Cần Giờ District.

The captain discovered that the gearbox was malfunctioning when the ferry was about 300 metres from the terminal.

After the crew noticed that water was quickly flowing into the cabin, the captain and crew immediately docked the ferry at the Tắc Suất terminal and evacuated all 42 passengers safely.

The company contacted the local centre for search and rescue, as well as the sea police force, to salvage the ferry.

The 42 passengers were transferred to another high-speed ferry to continue their trip to HCM City. .—VNS.