The national police unit has launched a criminal investigation into the collision Friday morning near Terschelling. The skippers have been arrested for questioning, a spokesperson for the Friesland Safety Region reported. A maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour applies at the Schuitengat, says Rijkswaterstaat.
The accident happened a few hundred meters outside the harbor of West Terschelling, writes broadcaster Zilt. The first express boat leaves according to the timetable at 07:05 and it takes about 50 minutes to reach Harlingen. The Ms. Tiger, as the fast boat is called, has been brought to the port of Harlingen for investigation by the authorities and damage repair, shipping company Doeksen reports.
Tiger was damaged in the collision and water entered one of the two hulls. “But the ship has been designed in such a way, with several compartments, that this has not presented any further danger,” said a spokesman for the shipping company.
Latest speedboat
On Friday morning, 21 passengers and six employees were on board. None of them were injured. The 52 meter long ferry can carry more than 400 people and reach a speed of 58 kilometers per hour. Tiger is the newest fast boat of this shipping company. According to ferryinfo.nl, it has been employed by Doeksen since 2008.
The Stormloper water taxi is much smaller than the ferry. After the impact, the thirteen-metre-long boat sank and was towed to a shallower area by personnel from another shipping company. “This is not nothing,” responds Simon Smit of shipping company Noordgat, the company that was the first to arrive on site.
Passengers on the hull
Noordgat employees rushed out as soon as they received the report. They found four people on the hull of the water taxi. “We got them on board quickly.” One of the employees then went to search the water taxi. Another person has been found here. This victim had to be resuscitated. “A sad story,” said Smith.
Both the skippers of Tiger and Stormloper were arrested this morning after the incident. Anne van der Meer, spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat, explains that you are only allowed to go faster than 20 kilometers per hour on the main sailing route between Terschelling and Harlingen after sunrise. “But this accident happened at the Schuitengat, one of the shipping channels, you are not allowed to sail fast there anyway.”
Two Rijkswaterstaat ships, a patrol vehicle and a larger ship, have also been moved to the site of the incident. “They participated in the rescue operation.”
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