This morning's 8:40 to Central had a VERY close shave with the incoming ferry to Lamma.

We suddenly stopped dead in a fog bank in the middle of the Lamma Channel. Horns were blaring and, as I was sitting upstairs out the back, I was able to stick my head out and get a clear view of....the two ferries on a total head-on collision course.

The ferry to Lamma was still coming for us from the left but.....swung right at THE VERY LAST MINUTE.

After 11 years of taking this ferry almost daily, it was the closest to a head-on collision I've seen. Got to hand it to the pilots.....

The first one to post a good photo of the near-collision here (or email it to info@lamma.com.hk) wins a free drink in a YSW bar of his/her choice!

Plus a second drink for an eye witness account.

I'm also trying to get some comments from HKKF....

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

I too was on that ferry and it was a very close call. It makes me wonder if the radars were on? The fact that we hadn't yet crossed the cargo shipping lane, made me feel a little weak at the knees! Last year I was on the 7 in such fog and watched the rocks of green island rise next to the side of the ferry something us 7'o clockers like to mention to each other every time we encounter fog!

I've just met the boss of HKKF again at the big Women's Day dinner in Sampan tonight, he promised some explanations tomorrow....

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Lamma-Gung, if you do meet up please praise those pilots to him, I've been on many a journey through fog back to Lamma over the years and they got us there each time in one piece.....with never a word of thanks from any of us.

I actually thought they wouldn't make it for a few seconds yesterday as the ferry steaming towards us seemed not able to swing right fast enough. But they reacted quickly enough to avert a collision. I wanted to climb into the pilot's cabin to thank him personally afterwards, but I don't speak Cantonese. A huge thanks on behalf of the passengers, please. And if they didn't have a functioning radar between them, could that please be fixed?

Praise them because they didn't crash right into each other? Surely you jest ...

_________________
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

I was going to say the same thing!!! They shouldnt have got so close to eachother in the first place.

Surely in this day of age they have some sort of radar and if not they can probably find an app for their phone...joke.

I did not make any record to give now a date and time. Sometime foggy spring season last year the ferry stopped just meters from rocks of Green Island. I was on the front seat lower deck. That time I was wondering how this was possible when using radar. Do the radars detect rocks? If yes, do they function properly? The ships are equipped with GPS and the position is plotted against marine chart. Does the fog obstruct GPS?

I said to click area 168 for the live AIS data for HK. Apparently the area number changes depending on zoom level. You will have to navigate yourself to HK to look at the ships here. It's just google maps, if you can't do that then this whole conversation is prob over your head! LOL

That's a pretty amazing resource.
We can track the HKKF ferries in real time.

I'll have to check it on Sunday to see if it shows the junks usually off the west coast.

Could have used it a few months ago when we had ewald talking about tankers making secret rendezvous off Lamma.

Though he'd probably say that the secret tankers turned off their AIS.

I dont think the sampans will have it.

A vessel may have an AIS transeiver or just a receiver. Without some kind of screen (some VHF radios have a small LCD screen with integrated AIS) you can't use the data.

The few pleasure boats that have it generally have only the receiver, although both are becoming more common in vessels not required to have it.

And another image, Central piers.
Two HKKF, two First Ferry and two Star Ferries.

Reminds me of the movie "Enemy of the State".

well of course it is SOP to turn off electronic devices wich broadcast your location while conducting covert ops - sheesh

I miss Ewald

Thanks for all the info PNWxplant. Very interesting.

Am on a ferry to Lamma as I write. No fog so far......

Lamma Gung did you get any feedback from the Lamma Ferry company about this incident?

Was on the same ferry, also wondering this!

Sorry, despite me following up several times, I'm still waiting for a reply from HKKF to my "media enquiry" to their GM and their PR people:

1. What happened this morning exactly? Where? When?
2. What measures were taken to prevent the collision?
3. Have the passengers been informed throughout the incident?
4. Why did this happen at all? Don't your ferries have radar, GPS or other devices to prevent all collisions?
5. What will you do in future to prevent this from happening again in foggy conditions or at night?

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.

Finally, after several reminders and feeling like having to pull somebody's teeth out against their will, I got replies from HKKF:

1. What happened this morning exactly? Where? When?

On 6 March 2012, at about 08:50, because of foggy weather, the coxswain of the ferry from Yung Shue Wan to Central kept left of his lane to keep away from the land to avoid a collision. On the other hand, the coxswain of the ferry from Central to Yung Shue Wan also kept left of his lane to keep away from other ships.
During the journeys, when they were aware of each other through the radars, they made soundings to signal each other and slowed down their ferries to avoid collision. After investigation, they tried every means to avoid collision in this case, so they found no crucial mistakes.

2. What measures were taken to prevent the collision?

Both coxswains used soundings to signal each other and slowed down their ferries to avoid collision.

3. Have the passengers been informed throughout the incident?

No passenger was informed because the coxswains thought no accident was happening and they had tried every means to avoid collision.

4. Why did this happen at all? Don't your ferries have radar, GPS or other devices to prevent all collisions?

All of our ferries are equipped with AIS and radars to prevent collisions. The radars at the time worked properly, and the captains found no crucial mistakes after investigation. But we are waiting for their thorough report before making final conclusions.

5. What will you do in future to prevent this from happening again in foggy conditions or at night?

We will remind our coxswains once again to raise their awareness during foggy weather.

Thank you again for raising your concerns.

_________________
Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.