Sethusagar-1, one of the two roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferries that operated in the Fort Kochi-Vypeen corridor, was withdrawn from service on Saturday after a fishing boat rammed its ramp, damaging its rope and handrail, while it was nearing the Vypeen jetty.
The boat failed to stop and sped away. The ferries that carry commuters and vehicles often encounter rashly driven fishing boats on the route (10 ferry passengers had died in 2015 after a fishing boat collided with the ferry). “The Fisheries department is not taking preventive measures,” said Francis Chammany, president of Vypeen-Fort Kochi Passengers’ Association.
Police sources said they were yet to identify the fishing boat, since only part of its name that ended with ‘swaran’ was visible in the CCTV footage. An official of the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC), which operates the ro-ro service, said the station master had been directed to submit a detailed report on the incident.
