Private speedboats a menace: Ferries body to Mumbai Port Trust

Six days before a naval speedboat crashed into a passenger ferry, Neel Kamal, off the Gateway of India, killing 15, an association of ferries - the Gateway Elephanta Jal Vahatuk Sahakari Sanstha Maryadi (GEJVSSM) - had written to the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) highlighting a long-standing problem of private speedboats interfering with their space at the jetties.

- Sabah Virani

MUMBAI:

In its letter dated December 12, which HT has seen, the association called attention to how private players, which have permission to use jetty number 5, were veering toward jetties 1 to 4, which are marked for passenger ferries. This invasion, the association underscored, posed a risk to the ferries.

The letter stated that the force of the speedboats "emits strong waves which cause severe rolling of the wooden boats", making it difficult for the wooden ferries to arrive and berth into jetties 1 to 4.

The problem is exacerbated by the "congestion and turbulence caused by the speedboats" which compromise safety of the boats, passengers and crew.