Jadrolinija's catamaran "Novalja", which connects the islands of Ist and Molat with Zadar, hit a pier of the Zadar town harbour this morning. There were about twenty passengers in the catamaran. According to the initial unofficial information, one sailor has injured his hand, and one elderly passenger requested medical assistance, reports zadarski.hr on January 9, 2019.
It seems that the incident took place due to a malfunction of the ship’s steering commands. The catamaran entered the harbour this morning and headed for the town bridge when the commander realised that his commands did not operate. He decided against turning off the engine, which enabled him to turn the catamaran and prevent it from hitting the town bridge. He instead pointed it towards the harbour exit. There he managed to avoid large yachts, so no other vessels were damaged.
The lower part of the catamaran’s bow has been damaged.
“There were about twenty of us on board. We entered the port when the ship’s steering broke down. The captain tried to leave the harbour so he would not hit the bridge, but he failed and hit the pier. I think he responded very well and that this was the best solution,” said one of the passengers.
The Jadrolinija shipping company issued the following statement: “Earlier today, during the arrival in Zadar just before 8 am on the regular Ist - Molat - Zadar line, the Novalja catamaran hit the pier at the entrance to the passenger part of the town harbour. Passengers left the ship, and we are undertaking standard procedures for such incidents. According to the initial information, there has been no pollution of the sea, but the catamaran has suffered damage to its hull. The line departing from Zadar will be executed with a replacement catamaran.”
“The first information points to a technical defect. When he tried to dock, the captain noticed there were technical problems. He tried to turn and sail from the harbour so as not to pose a risk to other maritime traffic participants. He did not succeed and hit the pier, but fortunately did not hit other ships. Thanks to his experience, he reacted very well,” said Harbour Master Alen Rukavina.
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Translated from zadarski.hr.
