Penang ferry breaks down mid-channel with 100 on board

Two tugboats come to the rescue and move 'Pulau Payar' to Butterworth terminal after 20-minute wait.

Tugboats moving the fully-loaded ferry across the channel to Butterworth.

GEORGE TOWN: More than 100 people were stranded on a ferry for 20 minutes this morning after the vessel broke down in the middle of the Penang Channel this morning.

Ferry operator RapidFerry said two tugboats were dispatched to move ferry boat “Pulau Payar” to Butterworth terminal in 18 minutes.

There were 62 pedestrians, 27 cars and 49 motorcycles on board at the time.

“All passengers and vehicles safely disembarked and continued with their travel plans,” RapidFerry said in a statement.

“We have apologised to those affected.”

The 440-tonne Pulau Payar ferry was commissioned in 2002.

In 2015, it was forced to turn back to Butterworth after smoke billowed from the engine compartment.

In May this year, Penang ferry services were acquired by Rapid Ferry Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of federal government-owned Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, from Penang Port Sdn Bhd.

Regular ferry services have been running between George Town and Butterworth for more than a century.

However, usage of the ferry service has plumetted since the Penang Bridge was opened in 1985, and the ferry operators are believed to incur a loss of RM700 per trip. -FMT