Submitted by Hans Andersen Club's Lamma Centre:

Memorial activity
Date: 7 Oct & 8 Oct
Time: 9am to 9pm
Venue: near the North Lamma Rural Committee office

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The search for witnesses by the worldwide media continues:

"I am a freelance TV producer who has been approached by the National Geographic Channel who are interested in making a half hour film about last week's Lamma ferry tragedy.
The film is meant to be a personal account that is told from the perspective of 3-4 people.
For instance a witness/participant on the Hong Kong Kowloon ferry, a survivor of the HK Electric Boat, a fisherman or other observer who watched from nearby.
There will be no commentary as such. Just the the words of the people who were there telling it how it was. This will not be an investigative account of the disaster, nor will it be a general overview of the events.
Are you aware of any people you know who we could approach who might want to feature in this film, production of which will begin shortly?"
--
Adrian Brown
Mobile 6162 2306
Email: abinternational09@gmail.com
Twitter: ajabrown
Skype: abinter09

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Report 15 years ago warned of dangers around Lamma

And new study says more casualties likely due to larger passenger vessels

A report 15 years ago warned of potential dangers at the location of Monday's ferry disaster, it was revealed last night.

The survey came to light as another unpublished report, completed before the Lamma tragedy, predicted more people would be injured or killed in Hong Kong waters as passenger-carrying vessels get bigger and faster.

The reports emerged at a time when the number of passenger-carrying vessels is expected to increase further when the Kai Tak cruise terminal comes into operation next year.

The 1997 report found that while there were "very few incidents" in and around the East and West Lamma channels, the area was home to "local situations that warrant attention".

It continued: "These include returning pleasure craft [vessels that carry up to 60 people] from either Lamma or Lantau Islands to Aberdeen Harbour tending to bunch just before sunset which may pose additional risk to vessels navigating the East Lamma Channel."

The recent unpublished report was by Yip Tsz-leung, associate director and co-founder of the CY Tung International Centre for Maritime Studies.

He said the trend for faster, bigger ferries meant that when an accident does happen, the force of the collision is stronger, causing more injuries and possibly death. He said: "There are fewer cargo ships in the harbour.

"On the other hand, we have more passenger ships which are more frequent, bigger and faster.

"More people may pass away as the impact of an accident will be very huge."

Yip said that accidents in the waters around Hong Kong - the second busiest port in terms of ship arrivals - had halved in the last 20 years ago and were on a consistent downward trend.

He said that because there were fewer accidents, people had become complacent and were less vigilant about safety measures, such as knowing where lifejackets were located.

A Marine Department spokeswoman said there was no "clear, upward trend" of more injuries or deaths in port traffic accidents. Since 2000, the average number of collisions per year was 195 and "barring a few more serious cases resulting in casualties, most of the collisions recorded were minor contacts".

The last time marine officials conducted a comprehensive study of traffic risk in Hong Kong waters was in 2004, when it commissioned a HK$2.5 million report that forecast a five per cent increase in incidents by last year.

The Marine Department said last night in a written reply: "The 1997 report was based on the planning framework at that time, including the Lantau Port, West Lamma Channel and Lamma Breakwater, which have not materialised after the report was completed.

"So it is not appropriate to comment on the information in the 1997 report which might have been overtaken by events."

Submitted by the Rural Committees:

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Just watched Diana Lin's TVBPearl Report that was a round up of footage and witness accounts. It's very fortunate that the video of Sea Smooth taken from inside the lower deck immediately after the collision showed calm and seemingly organized passengers assembled in life vests. Couldn't see any crew stationed on that deck in the video, but several familiar and stoic faces.

The footage they then showed on board New World Ferries Xing Chao boat asking random people to demonstrate how they would find and put on a life vest was appalling. The bags they are contained in are double knotted, the vest itself is triple tied, and which way round it goes was beyond all. I doubt anyone would achieve a successful donning of the vest in under 2 minutes especially of there was a unfolding and darkened / water situation. I'd hate to have to hear a 3 language broadcast before every trip of how to put a vest on, but perhaps it is high time HKKF / Tsui Wah dedicated a day to emergency procedures at least.

The interesting fact from the report in my opinion that I had not do far read or heard, was from a survivor of the Lamma IV that mentioned that when his family boarded the vessel, his daughter insisted after the boat left Lamma that they sit outside as "all the lights in the cabin were off" and she wanted to sit somewhere less dark... why would you sail with your lights off with 131 people on board?

The report concluded that the inquiry will take 6 months. In the meantime, there are many ways that individuals can make sure that they understand basics of evacuation and emergencies on all Lamma Ferries... as air crews say "we appreciate that you may have flown before, but each aircraft type is different, so please pay particular attention to your seat location and the emergency procedures for this vessel".

I also saw this report and it was absolute garbage - pure supposition with really Next-style cartoonish graphics and generally uninformed guesswork. Crap.

I think that the concentration on vests is a red herring.

Most of the passengers that died were injured in the impact and/or trapped in the cabin by the debris and and drowned. Vests would not have helped. Probably would have made it much harder to climb out through the debris with a big puffy vest.

About the only time I'd want a vest is if I was adrift during a storm. I'd rather they had a bunch of life preservers (rings) on the outside I could grab after I was out.

More events to take care of our "mental and emotional welfare"...

Contact hotline : 2852 3118

Plus one more Religious Condolence Ceremony coming Sat, Oct 13, near the YSW Library, 10am - 9pm.

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There should be more attention paid to the lack of escape routes from these ferries. Less people would have died on Lamma IV if they had been able to exit through the front end of the upper deck (ie. through the captain's cabin) without having to smash windows.

There should also be emergency hammers placed close to the windows so they can be easily smashed in case of emergency - this might also have saved lives.

This also applies to our small catamaran (otherwise known as The Death Trap) which is now running frequently in place of the Sea Smooth.

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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

TVB Pearl Report last night, Mon, Oct 8:

http://mytv.tvb.com/news/pearlreport/135784#page-1

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Many ferry commuters and maybe even staff have become a bit complacent regarding safety on the ferries. I have certainly been more aware of escape routes since 1st October.

I had an incident on the ferry a couple of days after the tragedy, that left me stunned. I took pictures, I have dates, and I told the ferry staff I was appalled.

I sent an email to HKKF yesterday and told them the whole situation. I also told them that I was going to send my email to Lamma. com, the Transport Department and to the media if I didn't have a response within the week. Will keep you updated.

My own thought is that you should make it public anyway, not as a punishment to HKKF to force them to respond. If thats what it takes to make them give a response then we are all in trouble.

Transparency and accountability is how accidents are going to be prevented, bigger boats, exits, life jackets, radars, more rules, and anything else we can come up with ultimately are nothing more than band-aids without transparency AND accountability.

Knowledge is Power, you should share what you have with the rest of us, and HKKF, and Marine Department, and anyone else that wants to know. It is a matter of public safety.

Photo submitted by Maria, see below. A well-placed double rainbow of hope over the YSW - Pak Kok-Aberdeen ferry, the "Lamma Forest" and Lamma in general. Life goes on...

This is the YSW - Pak Kok - Aberdeen ferry/gaido, very similar to the Lamma IV, same manufacturer, type and even colours. It's within a minute of reaching the spot of the disaster at the lighthouse, passing regularly within a few dozen metres of the actual crash location, just outside the "lighthouse" marker which is just off the left edge of this photo.

Will any kind of memorial be set up on that lighthouse, the nearby beach or on top of one of those two rocks at the left of the picture below, visible to all passing ships, I wonder? These rocks are at the lower end of the "Lamma Forest" project, beyond the Sitting-Out Area at the top of Pak Kok, close to Nga Kau Wan, where the Lamma IV is now under investigation.

Here's my photo taken from the top of that rock the next morning, including the ferry YSW - Pak Kok passing by.

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New posters, in preparation for the all-day Taoist Condolences Ceremony on Saturday at the Library, starting at 10am.

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International media coverage of the disaster:

28 Internet stories with the keywords "Lamma Island" - News, Blogs, Web and Videos - from the last 7 days, courtesy of Google Alert.

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I'm not forcing them to respond. I just want them to know that I would like an answer to my email.

What happened involved two members of the ferry staff, who obviously weren't doing their job.

I'm not about to hold all HKKF staff accountable, for one person's actions (or lack thereof). That would be 'tarring everyone with the same brush' and I don't do that.

I'm interested in a response, and to see if there have been changes, and more safety awareness.

Cabin staff are now in the cabins, instead of the captain/pilot area. So changes are being made. (not due to my email I'm sure.... I doubt that they have even gotten around to my email??) I'm sure they are inundated with emails.

This is why I have decided to give it a few days. Rest assured, I am more than willing (and do) to point out glaring safety errors when I see them.

Last night at the YSW ferry pier, my 2 quick snapshots while I'm working on another Lamma-zine photo gallery, including a fiery Taoist Condolences Ceremony at the actual crash site, same time, 9 days later....

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Tannery Beach, this Sunday morning, all photos by our Pak Kok Correspondent, taken with his iPhone 5, uploaded via Facebook.

It looks like they're preparing to lift the Lamma IV out of the water, 2 hoists attached so far, at least 2 more to go, pumping out the water, then hoisting it.
More photos of the slow progress from passersby would be appreciated.

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"Goodbye, Lamma IV" - by Marcus - iPhone 5, via Facebook.

Will it join the "Sea Smooth" in Yaumatei?

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I went by Tannery Beach this evening, around the time the photo was taken. The Lamma IV was out and already cradled on the big crane barge. Didn't have a camera, but one could see a huge L shaped gash in the hull, at least a foot wide, running from the lower deck all the way down to the incurve of the bottom, then another 4 or 5 feet horizontally toward the stern. No wonder it sank so quickly.