Thanx Dad for sharing this from Foroyaa. Another installment in value journalism.

It is amazing that after the catastrophic and avoidable ferry disasters in SierraLeone and Senegal, Gambian officials have not learned anything to save ferry travellers. Nowadays it very difficult for a ferry to capsize due only to mechanical failure. In Africa, the main cause of catastrophic ferry accidents is not collision with other barges or even tempestuous weather. It is overloading and uneven load distribution leading to capsizing. These are the two most preventable conditions and yet we hear of tilting ferries one way or the other to remove water from the ferry. Of course when a ferry is taking on water, humans will move en masse to the other end to avoid drowning. That's a given. And that then causes an uneven distribution of load. So the reason why a ferry would be flooded in the first place is overloading at dock or uneven distribution of load. If a ferry's load capacity is 50,000 pounds as an example, you do not load it to 49,999 Lbs. or 50,001 Lbs. It is generally wiser to have two smaller ferries one carrying human cargo and the other carrying trucks and equipment rather than one big ferry to carry people, animals, trucks, and heavy equipment.

It is unconscionable to have a ferry capsize for these reasons anymore and kill thousands or even hundreds of travellers.

Haruna.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Modou Nyang <[log in to unmask]>
To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 3:58 am
Subject: Foroyaa News: COMMUTERS FEEL INSECURE AS WATER ENTERS FERRY




COMMUTERS FEEL INSECURE AS WATER ENTERS FERRY

By Abdoulie G. Dibba

Commuters crossing at the Bamba Tenda-Yelli Tenda ferry on Tuesday 15th June 2010 appeared shaken when water entered the ferry. The commuters could be seen moving away from the flooded portion of the ferry to the other areas, not knowing that they could tip the balance. As they moved away from the flooded area to the other side, this reporter, who was then on board the ferry, could hear some of them say, “the authorities should look into the condition of this ferry or consider limiting the load which it carries.”
According to the commuters, water getting into the ferry is nothing new as this has been going on for months now. They argued that once the load on the ferry is heavy, water is bound to flow on board.

Talking to this reporter, Samba Ceesay urged the authorities not to allow this ferry to ply the river with trucks loaded with bituminous stones. Mr Ceesay noted that the ferry services authorities should value human life above all other things. He said he has never been subjected to such a serious threat to his life than what he had experienced when he was in the ferry. He added that he did not know what was happening until he noticed his feet submerging in the water up to his ankles while he was seated onboard the ferry. He opined that what saved the ferry from sinking that day was the fact that it was tilted due to the heavy load on one side of the ferry, which allowed water inside to flow out of the ferry instead of settling on board. It is Mr Ceesay’s conviction that had the ferry not tilted it would have sunk.
He concluded by calling on the authorities to set up a task force to study the condition of the ferry to save the commuters from endless fears while crossing with the ferry.
In his observation of the ferry, this reporter discovered that the deck of the ferry is low and that the sides of the deck are not entirely sealed thus allowing water to easily enter once the ferry is tilted.

Editor’s Note
Foroyaa will contact the Gambia Ports Authority to get the opinion of the authorities. ‘Disaster Prevention’ is the Key phrase these days. We will find out what the authorities are doing to prevent an impending ferry disaster at the BambaTenda -Yelli Tenda crossing.





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