Post by ferryfast admin on Apr 1, 2006 22:15:39 GMT -5
Troubled waters
04/01/2006
BY ATSUHIKO IKEDA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
FUKUOKA--For years, the waters were quiet.
Since going into service in 1991, the hydrofoil ferry nicknamed the "Beetle" plied the waters between Hakata Port here and Pusan in South Korea without incident.
Then in 2004, around the time a South Korean ferry collided with a whale, the Beetle ferry operator decided to buy special devices that emit noises to scare the animals away.
Suddenly, the collisions began.
On Feb. 6 of this year, a Beetle ferry slammed into what appeared to be a whale about 5 kilometers from the Tsushima islands in the strait between Japan and South Korea.
Then on March 5 the ferry collided with another whale, injuring 14 passengers and smashing the hydrofoil's submerged wing and 5-meter-long support column, which sank into the depths.
Then, two more accidents occurred, on March 17 and 19. A total of four suspected whale collisions were reported in less than two months, after a perfect 15-year record.
"Does that mean that there are so many whales in the waters (in the ferry's route) that we can't avoid them?" asked a perplexed Teruyoshi Onoda, an executive with JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Inc., which operates the Beetle.
Baffled, the company has decided to slow down. Since March 20 it has reduced the ferry's speed from 80 kph to 70 kph, extending the three-hour trip by about 20 minutes.
Mayumi Yamada, 37, of Kotake, Fukuoka Prefecture, took the return Beetle to Fukuoka on March 23. "There were a number of announcements during the trip telling us to fasten our seat belts," Yamada said. "The risk of accidents scares me, and I also feel sorry for the whales."
Another passenger, a man in his 50s from Naha, agreed with the move. "Avoiding accidents is better, even if it means the ferry is slower and we arrive late," he said.
The damage has been extensive. The company has four Beetle hydrofoils, each about 30 meters long and weighing 162 to 165 tons. The ferries have underwater foils or wings that hold the vessel about 2 meters above the water while it zips along.
Those wings have been badly beaten up by the accidents, to the tune of 500 million yen in damage. Luckily, they are insured.
The Beetle is not the only ferry running into trouble. Two similar accidents have been reported, in 2004 and 2005, by South Korea's Pusan-based Miraejet Co., which runs similar hydrofoil ferries between Pusan and Fukuoka.
The waters around the Tsushima islands are a whale migration route during the spring and summer.
"The ferries travel along a route that passes through an area where the fish that the whales feed on gather in the greatest numbers," said Masamichi Itai, 69, a fisherman in Tsushima. "Accidents are likely to continue to occur unless the ferries change their route."
The local fishing association has noticed an increasing number of whales getting caught in their nets.
It used to be that a whale would get caught every few years; now a few whales get caught each year.
Researchers at the Fisheries Research Agency's National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries said that, although there are no scientific data on whale population fluctuations around Tsushima, whale feeding grounds change from year to year depending on where the food is, making it difficult to know where whales will gather at any given time.
As for the anti-whale devices on the four Beetles, which emit noises that can be heard about 1 kilometer away and cost 10 million yen each, one thing appears clear. At best, they are not working.
"Even if a vessel emits sounds that are disagreeable to whales, the whales become accustomed to them when they hear them repeatedly," said a researcher at the institute.
"It could be that whales noticed the ferries and tried to swim away, but couldn't avoid the vessels at the high speed of 80 kph."
JR Kyushu Jet Ferry is considering equipping the Beetles with special detectors so the ferries can avoid the whales, instead of the other way around.(IHT/Asahi: April 1,2006)
04/01/2006
BY ATSUHIKO IKEDA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
FUKUOKA--For years, the waters were quiet.
Since going into service in 1991, the hydrofoil ferry nicknamed the "Beetle" plied the waters between Hakata Port here and Pusan in South Korea without incident.
Then in 2004, around the time a South Korean ferry collided with a whale, the Beetle ferry operator decided to buy special devices that emit noises to scare the animals away.
Suddenly, the collisions began.
On Feb. 6 of this year, a Beetle ferry slammed into what appeared to be a whale about 5 kilometers from the Tsushima islands in the strait between Japan and South Korea.
Then on March 5 the ferry collided with another whale, injuring 14 passengers and smashing the hydrofoil's submerged wing and 5-meter-long support column, which sank into the depths.
Then, two more accidents occurred, on March 17 and 19. A total of four suspected whale collisions were reported in less than two months, after a perfect 15-year record.
"Does that mean that there are so many whales in the waters (in the ferry's route) that we can't avoid them?" asked a perplexed Teruyoshi Onoda, an executive with JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Inc., which operates the Beetle.
Baffled, the company has decided to slow down. Since March 20 it has reduced the ferry's speed from 80 kph to 70 kph, extending the three-hour trip by about 20 minutes.
Mayumi Yamada, 37, of Kotake, Fukuoka Prefecture, took the return Beetle to Fukuoka on March 23. "There were a number of announcements during the trip telling us to fasten our seat belts," Yamada said. "The risk of accidents scares me, and I also feel sorry for the whales."
Another passenger, a man in his 50s from Naha, agreed with the move. "Avoiding accidents is better, even if it means the ferry is slower and we arrive late," he said.
The damage has been extensive. The company has four Beetle hydrofoils, each about 30 meters long and weighing 162 to 165 tons. The ferries have underwater foils or wings that hold the vessel about 2 meters above the water while it zips along.
Those wings have been badly beaten up by the accidents, to the tune of 500 million yen in damage. Luckily, they are insured.
The Beetle is not the only ferry running into trouble. Two similar accidents have been reported, in 2004 and 2005, by South Korea's Pusan-based Miraejet Co., which runs similar hydrofoil ferries between Pusan and Fukuoka.
The waters around the Tsushima islands are a whale migration route during the spring and summer.
"The ferries travel along a route that passes through an area where the fish that the whales feed on gather in the greatest numbers," said Masamichi Itai, 69, a fisherman in Tsushima. "Accidents are likely to continue to occur unless the ferries change their route."
The local fishing association has noticed an increasing number of whales getting caught in their nets.
It used to be that a whale would get caught every few years; now a few whales get caught each year.
Researchers at the Fisheries Research Agency's National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries said that, although there are no scientific data on whale population fluctuations around Tsushima, whale feeding grounds change from year to year depending on where the food is, making it difficult to know where whales will gather at any given time.
As for the anti-whale devices on the four Beetles, which emit noises that can be heard about 1 kilometer away and cost 10 million yen each, one thing appears clear. At best, they are not working.
"Even if a vessel emits sounds that are disagreeable to whales, the whales become accustomed to them when they hear them repeatedly," said a researcher at the institute.
"It could be that whales noticed the ferries and tried to swim away, but couldn't avoid the vessels at the high speed of 80 kph."
JR Kyushu Jet Ferry is considering equipping the Beetles with special detectors so the ferries can avoid the whales, instead of the other way around.(IHT/Asahi: April 1,2006)