Reports from Banjul indicated that a boat carrying 8 passengers between Banjul and Barra Ferry crossing capsized Friday evening killing all 8 passengers. The accident occurred amid wide spread online media coverage of an inevitable disaster occurring at the most popular ferry crossing in the Gambia. The Banjul Barra ferry is a crossing linking the capital Banjul to the country’s North Bank region. Thousands of people use the Ferry crossing daily which criss-crosses between Banjul and Barra running between half hours to two hours at a time.
The Ferry crossing has been extremely dangerous for passengers as it is usually over crowded with passengers and vehicles crossing to the North Bank and to Senegal. Early this year several incidents were reported of the Ferries having mechanical problems and was aground several times. In September the kanilai Ferry run shore and was stocked at Barra for several days. Divers were engaged to help rescue the Ferry.
Many Gambians are wary of using the Ferry crossing but had little choice since that was pretty much the only route that links the capital Banjul with its provinces to the North and Senegal. Pictures shared on Social Media and other media outlets show young men carrying passengers on their necks to help rescue them from the Ferries that were stocked at the terminal. Many speculators indicated that the Ferry disaster was a ticking time bomb that was waiting to explode.
According to the Gambia Ports Authority management the biggest problem with the Ferry services is that demand far exceeds the number of ferries they have. Most of the ferries are old and lacks regular maintenance.There are three Ferris running namely, Kanilai, Johe and Barra which are reportedly very old. The lack of adequate shipyard facilities,is a major contributor to the problem as well.
Unfortunately, the latest tragedy may not be the last to claim lives as the government seem unable to find a viable solution to the ferry crossing. The names and origin of the passengers who died in the accident were yet to be released at the time of going to press. The authorities in Banjul must find a viable solution to Banjul/Barra crossing as the route is an economically viable crossing for the country’s movement of goods and service.