Shutdown of engines causes scare on catamaran on windy crossing from Tallinn to Helsinki
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Both engines of the Nordic Jet Line catamaran vessel shut down in high seas during a crossing from the Estonian capital Tallinn to Helsinki on Sunday afternoon.
"The vessel dipped deep to the bottom of a wave, its stern rose up, and the engines turned off. People started to put on life jackets right away", one Finnish passenger said, once the vessel had reached Helsinki.
The engines were re-started after a few minutes. The catamaran arrived in Helsinki about 50 minutes behind schedule.
Nordic Jet Line CEO Mikael Granrot said that nobody was injured in the incident, and that there was no damage to the cars on board, or to the vessel itself.
Granrot says that the engines shut down because the water intake took in air when a high wave lifted the stern above the surface.
"In such a situation the engines are supposed to shut down", he pointed out.
One Estonian passenger said that the captain made an announcement about the situation, but only in Finnish and English. He said that this may have caused some concern among some of the Estonian passengers. He said that in other respects the crew did well. "Although they did have to look for the life jackets for a while."
Granrot said that the captain never ordered passengers to put on the life jackets.
"When the vessel left Tallinn, we expected the wind to pick up in the afternoon, and that this would be the last crossing", Granrot says. The company then cancelled the rest of the day’s crossings. Linda Line, Silja Line, and Tallink also cancelled all of their fast catamaran and hydrofoil crossings for the day because of the rough weather.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 19.9.2005 - TODAY |
 Shutdown of engines causes scare on catamaran on windy crossing from Tallinn to Helsinki |
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