12 June, 2019 by Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

Collision Risk in Es Freus, with a Passenger in the Water

What seems to be a misunderstanding of the regulations almost led to a collision with unpredictable consequences in the Es Freus passage, between Ibiza and Formentera, involving the ferry “Bahama Mama” from Balearia and the vessel “Kontiki II” from Aquabus. A passenger from the latter ended up in the water, as can be seen in one of the videos circulating on the internet.

According to Vicente Costa on his blog ferrybalear.es, the incident occurred yesterday at 12:38 PM after the captain of the ferry “Bahama Mama” detected that the vessel “Kontiki II” was on a collision course, prompting him to sound the horn to warn of its presence, as the maneuverability in the area is restricted due to its size and draft.

The maritime captain of Ibiza and Formentera, Luis Gascón, acknowledges that a "collision risk situation has occurred that needs to be investigated, whether it was handled correctly on either side, as the risk was present for both the small and large vessel in a complicated environment like Freus, a place with heavy traffic and shallow waters." The "reasons and actions of both captains" will be analyzed, and we will have to wait for the report from the Maritime Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIM).

For now, Aquabus, the owner of the vessel “Kontiki II”, has dismissed the captain, understanding that a very compromising situation occurred for the crew, passengers, and the vessel itself.

A passenger from the "Kontiki II" jumped into the water[/caption>