Comments on: Put a stop to the fairytale reporting, please

By: C Falzon

C Falzon — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:17:21 +0000

One of the things that I cannot understand is how it was possible for a boat to burn fiercly for 6 hours and yet not be seen by any other vessel. Even a small boat on fire leaves a smoke trail easily visible from 20 miles away. Is it really possible that there was no vessel anywhere within 20 miles of the Simshar?
How is it possible that no remnants of the fire and sinking were left floating? What happened to the fuel and engine oil – why wasn’t an oil slick observed ?

By: me

me — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:59:11 +0000

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

By: Amanda Mallia

Amanda Mallia — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:39:06 +0000

David S – It would also be interesting to know who carried out the VRT test on the car that caught fire in High Street, Sliema last week. (See attached link)

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080725/local/driver-escapes-burning-car

If it is the car I am thinking it is, then I’d be surprised that it passed a VRT test at all!

By: David Buttigieg

David Buttigieg — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:37:20 +0000

@Joseph

Yes:) It took them decades to find the Titanic, how long do you think for the Simshar?

By: Daphne Caruana Galizia

Daphne Caruana Galizia — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:34:02 +0000

@Sybil and Marika – there was a fire in the hold and it burnt through, letting in water. The boat sank, not exploded. That’s why there was no floating debris or wreckage.

@Joseph: it’s Anne Fenech, not Grech. It’s all very well asking for the retrieval of the wreck; easier said than done. Nobody has the exact coordinates for where it went down, and lifting a wreck and towing it over a long distance to shore is a huge and costly exercise. The benefits of gaining knowledge from a forensic examination of it have to be weighed against the vast expense involved. Spending hundreds of thousands of euros to search for survivors and retrieve bodies is one thing (and that’s how much the AFM spent) – but for a forensic examination? I hardly think so.

By: marika mifsud

marika mifsud — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:24:07 +0000

I understand the fishing boat didn`t sink immediately so I wonder how they had time to make a raft but not to put on lifejackets, collect some drinking water , send out alarms etc.
Of course if there was an explosion all the above could have been impossible.
Was there a fire or an explosion ?

By: Joseph

Joseph — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:54:13 +0000

The Simshar tragedy has got so many shady aspects that Dr. Anne Grech should seek to order the retrieval of the sunken wreckage of what remains of the boat – if the boat has gone down !! This would give many answers……..

By: David S

David S — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:22:33 +0000

…and the VRT test on the brakes which failed ! Are the police verifying the VRT test and the garage that did the test ? (commercial trucks have an ANNUAL test )

By: David Buttigieg

David Buttigieg — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:21:39 +0000

And yesterday’s case of that poor child killed in a traffic accident is another example of OUR crimminal laid back attitude to safety.

What was a three year old doing travelling in a front seat (obviously – no other seats) without even a car seat.

I see it too often here in Malta – children on the seat, not even with the seat belt, let alone a car seat. As usual a tragedy has to occur before we hopefully do something about it.

By: David Buttigieg

David Buttigieg — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:16:15 +0000

I cannot understand how they did not have a simple VHF in order to send out a Mayday and an epirb (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon) which should be the first thing purchased with a boat (and which by the way normally cost less then 500 euros).

The presence of an epirb often transforms a Search and Rescue mission into a Rescue mission, and obviously enough automatically transmits a distress call!

And I know everybody’s clever afterwards but shouldn’t the MMA conduct inspections to verify that safety equipment (like maintained liferafts) are on board?

When I brought my little boat over from France I underwent an inspection by the French authorities as I was travelling a certain distance from land.