Passenger Ferry Collides With Tanker Off Malaysia’s Penang Port, Injuring 21 People

A collision between a ferry and a tanker off Malaysia’s Penang Port has injured 21 people, with 6 in severe condition, authorities informed.

The accident happened at 20:40 local time, when the ferry Teluk Bahang was sailing to the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal, and the locally registered tanker MV Mekar Jaya was en route to Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal from the Butterworth Deep Water Wharves.

After the distress call was received at 9:58 pm local time, the Fire and Rescue Department sent teams to assist the passengers an hour after the collision.

Other agencies also collaborated with the Department’s personnel to help evacuate the ferry, which was carrying 92 passengers. Atleast 21 people were taken to the nearby hospital for treatment, while the other patients left the place after the chaos cleared.

Chairman of the Penang Port Commission, Datuk Yeoh Soon Hin, has said that a Task Force would be formed which would include members from the company which operated the ferry to investigate the cause of the collision, if it was due to a technical failure or human negligence.

The port officials said that the collision did not impact the operations at the ferry terminal. Footage of the accident put on social media platforms by a few passengers shows many motorbikes and vehicles lying broken or on the sides after the collision.