Catamaran sails into rough seas

Kedia’s is no isolated instance. On December 2, passengers were informed by phone that services for the next couple of days were cancelled. They were asked to collect refunds or travel by AC buses chartered by the Frank company to transport them to Goa. Most of the passengers opted for the refund and not take the bus journey. “The bus will reach Panjim at midnight when there is hardly any transport available to reach our homes. The taximen fleece passengers by charging hundreds of rupees for five or ten kilometres,” said Theresa C from Mumbai.

While the catamaran takes about seven hours, the bus journey exceeds 17 hours before reaching Panjim. “We opt for faster and expensive travel so that we can reach comfortably,” quipped a passenger who collected the refund on his ticket in November end.

When the craft was finally declared fit for sail on December 4, nearly 40 passengers including foreigners checked in for the 10 am voyage. After two hours at sea, the craft master announced that due to a gas leakage in the engine they are returning to Mumbai. The harried passengers reached the wharf by about 1 pm. A fracas followed after which the staff hastily refunded the ticket money. A family of three from Vapi was then put on the UP Air airlines for Goa the next day. Interestingly, UP Air charges Rs 2,425 as fare for Goa , while IA and and private air taxis charge Rs 1,925. A highly-placed source confirmed that the company is facing an acute shortage of spare parts for the catamarans which have to be imported from Singapore. “The parts never reach us on time thus directly affecting the service schedules. Eventually, the passengers bear the brunt,” he rued.

Travel agents for the catamaran service confirmed the irregular schedules maintained by Frank Shipping. A travel agent from Bandra when asked for a ticket for December 5 said, “The ship’s engine has conked off. Why don’t you travel by a luxury AC bus instead?” Another agent charged that this particular craft was in use for local transport in Hong Kongs for nearly eight years before Frank Ltd bought it.

The company director stated, “So far as spare parts are concerned, we have a large inventory to ensure constant supply.” When quizzed about the suspension of services, John said the craft would sail on December 9 on schedule.