KUALA KEDAH: Around 1,926 ferry passengers were stranded after Konsortium Ferry Line Ventures Sdn Bhd was forced to cancel eight trips due to adverse weather conditions on Sunday (July 28).
Operations Manager, Lt-Cdr (R) Norhafiz Abdul Wahid, said the ferries could not proceed as waves were about 4m high, with wind speeds of 16 to 18 knots.
Norhafiz told Sinar Harian that the cancellations were necessary as the rough weather posed risks to ferry and small boat operations.
“If the ferries can pass Pulau Payar, it is safe to continue. However, if they encounter waves before Pulau Payar, we do not proceed because our ferries are made of fibreglass,” he explained in a press conference at the Kuala Kedah Ferry Terminal on Sunday (July 28).
The cancellations affected routes between Pulau Langkawi and Kuala Kedah.
“The number of passengers unable to travel from Pulau Langkawi to Kuala Kedah was 1,030, while 896 passengers from Kuala Kedah to Pulau Langkawi were also affected,” he stated.
In total, 1,926 passengers were impacted.
Among the cancelled trips were the 12.30pm trip from Pulau Langkawi (259 passengers), the 1.30pm trip from Kuala Kedah (546 passengers), the 2.30pm trip from Pulau Langkawi (271 passengers) and the 3.30pm trip from Kuala Kedah (147 passengers).
Additionally, cancellations included the 4.30pm trip from Pulau Langkawi (345 passengers), the 5.30pm trip from Kuala Kedah (127 passengers), the 7pm trip (155 passengers) and the 7.30pm trip from Kuala Kedah (76 passengers).
However, Konsortium Ferry Line Ventures Sdn Bhd provided an additional trip from Pulau Langkawi to Kuala Perlis at 6pm.
Norhafiz mentioned that passengers could reschedule their trips to the following day according to the existing procedures.
The company apologised for any inconvenience caused.
Meanwhile, passenger Alejandra Canoura, 48, from Spain, who was visiting Malaysia for the first time, expressed her eagerness to explore Pulau Langkawi but understood the need for the cancellation due to bad weather.
She and her husband planned to stay overnight at a hotel in Alor Setar before taking a new trip to Pulau Langkawi on Monday.
Another passenger, Sarah Sofia Mohamad, 21, who planned to return home to Langkawi during her semester break, was surprised by the cancellation upon arrival at the terminal.
Understanding the weather conditions, she chose to continue her journey to Langkawi via Kuala Perlis.