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afrol News, 1 October - President Abdoulaye Wade has taken the full responsibility for the Joola ferry disaster, where over 1000 passengers lost their lives. The ferry had a too heavy load, new reports indicate. Senegalese President Wade said the government would take on responsibility for the disaster. He told the families of the victims that they would enjoy government repairs and at the same time ordered a full investigation of the incident. Wade admitted that the state-owned Joola ferry originally was constructed for inland water, not for high seas. Further, it was heavily overloaded after more than 200 passengers had entered at a stopover. "The responsibility of the state is clear," he emphasised. Georg Höckels, director of the German shipyard where the Joola was constructed, however told the magazine 'Der Spiegel' that the ferry was constructed for coastal traffic. Mr Höckels says the most probable reasons for the accident are an overload and in particular the slipping of the load, which maybe was not sufficiently fastened during the storm. New reports say the Joola ferry may have carried more than 1100 passengers when it capsized off the coast of The Gambia on 26/27 September. Only 64 survivors have been found. The ferry, trafficking between Dakar and Ziguinchor (capital of the southern province Casamance), had just been repaired. Still, the combination between an overload (it carried the double of the passengers it was designed for) combined with heavy weather seem to be the main causes for the disaster. First explanations to the ferry disaster were directed towards the heavy winds off The Gambia when the accident happened. The Joola has however frequently cruised these waters in bad weather conditions. The popular ferry had however been out of service for over one year due to serious engine problems. It was repaired in Senegal, with significant and repeated delays and the Joola only was put back into service two weeks ago. Reports of possible dysfunctions of the engines after this have however not been reported. The Joola further resumed services at a moment when the road traffic between the northern main bulk of Senegal and the isolated Casamance province - separated by the Gambian wedge - also were resumed. Professional drivers had refused to pass by the Transgambian highway protesting Gambian regulations. Cheap transport to Ziguinchor had therefore been cut for one year and traffic needs had accumulated. It is therefore possible that the Joola went heavier loaded than it usually did. The ferry has also been very popular with traders travelling between Dakar and the Casamance, carrying with them great bulks of goods at a cheap transport rate.
Sources: Based on Senegalese govt and press and afrol archives
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