The Sarawak Infrastructure Development and Communications Ministry has submitted a report on the accident involving the ‘Kawan Mas’ express boat in the Rajang River near Giam Bungan, Belaga last month to the state cabinet, which confirmed that overloading was not the cause of its capsizing, its Minister Michael Manyin said today.

He said inputs from the police, marine department, Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) and express boat operators showed that the ill-fated boat, which was overloaded with over 200 passengers, capsized on May 28 due to a series of accidents, including hitting a log and developing engine failure that caused it to drift and hit a submerged rock.

“Following a recent meeting held in Sibu, the relevant authorities as well as ferry and express boat operators are directed to find a solution to avoid a similar accident,” he told reporters after officially opening the sixth Internationasl Engineering Conference (ENCON 2013), organised by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's (Unimas) engineering faculty in Kuching.

Some 213 passengers survived the accident, two went missing and one was confirmed dead when ‘Kawan Mas’, which was licensed to carry only 64 passengers but was overloaded with over 200 people returning home for the annual Gawai Dayak festival, capsized.

He said there were no plans at the moment for boat operators to have extra vessels on standby especially during the festive seasons because it was not economically viable, with one express boat costing at least RM2 million and a lack of passengers on normal days, averaging only seven to 11 people plying along the Rajang River.

It was also impossible to emulate the airlines’ standard operating procedure to register passengers before boarding the aircraft as airlines cater for the high end market in contrast to the ordinary village folks who had to depend on river transport, including express boats and, hence, there was no passenger manifest available, he said.

- Bernama