Water Metro ferry rams pontoon at High Court Jetty, passengers injured

The High Court terminal of the Kochi Water Metro. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

In the latest accident attributed to technical glitches in Water Metro ferries, a ferry from Fort Kochi lost control and rammed a pontoon at the High Court Jetty on Tuesday evening, causing injuries to a few passengers.

Most of the injured were passengers who had got up from their seats to alight at the jetty, and they sustained injuries due to falling down. Tuesday’s accident comes close on the heels of the pilot of another Water Metro ferry losing control of the vessel and it ramming a roll-on roll-off ferry that was berthed at the adjacent Kochi Corporation Jetty in Vypeen, on Saturday morning. Official sources had attributed this to unusually strong undercurrents as it approached the Vypeen Jetty for berthing.

The past week also saw a few ferries cancelling their trips on the Vyttila-Kakkanad route due to technical glitches.

Following the spree of such incidents, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has constituted a team comprising technical experts from Cochin Shipyard, which manufactured the electric-hybrid ferries, Cochin University of Science and Technology, and Kochi Water Metro Limited. They will inspect the boat that was involved in Tuesday’s accident and also the other 19 Water Metro ferries in the fleet to prevent the recurrence of such accidents.

In addition, an internal inquiry will be conducted, according to a release issued by KMRL.

Published - June 04, 2025 01:57 am IST