One dead, one injured following vessel collision off Bima, Indonesia

One person was killed while another suffered critical injuries after a ferry and a fishing boat collided in the waters off Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara province on Sunday, June 20.

Police investigators said both the 51-metre Meliku Nusa and the unnamed fishing boat were approaching the province’s Bima port when they collided with each other at around 19:00 local time.

The impact left the fishing boat severely damaged that it broke in two and sank within minutes.

The ferry’s captain later claimed that he saw the fishing boat and manoeuvred his own vessel to the left to avoid a collision, all the while flashing his lights to warn the fishermen. However, the smaller boat had failed to decelerate, making the subsequent impact inevitable.

One of the fishermen, aged 59, was killed instantly while the second, aged 45, was found to be in critical condition when both were recovered from the water by the ferry’s crew minutes later.

The survivor has since been brought to hospital in Bima while the ferry was ordered to sail to port where it and the crew will be kept under police custody as part of the investigation into the incident.


Baird Maritime

The best maritime site on the web. The sea's our scene!