The Surface and Marine Transport Authority(SUMATRA) yesterday detained a Zanzibar-bound ferry boat for a while for overloading passangers who were travelling from dar es salaam.
Briefing reporters after releasing the boat yesterday, SUMATRA Director of Maritime Safety ans Security Capt. King Chiragi said the boat, MV Sepideh, was overloaded by about 75 passangers from its normal capacity of 325 passangers.Chiragi said SUMATRA had inspected the boat before its departure to Zanzibar and found that there were more passangers than normal .
He said the number of passangers exceeded the number of tickets issued. "The passanger manifest showed that only 325 passangers had booked and boarded the boat, but the number of passangers we found the boat's carrying capacity" he said.
He said the act was against marine transport rules and regulations, adding that the boat's manager would be penalized for the offence.
The vessel's Dar es salaam branch Manager, Ahmed Juma, claimed that the extra passangers were children accompanying their parents or guardians who were not subject to booking tickets. "Children are not included in the passanger manifest because they do not pay fare"
Source: The Guardian
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