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The report said the village jetty in Tanjung Aru used by the crew of the catamaran was not an authorised departure and arrival point for tourist boats.
As such, the tour operator did not have to submit the passenger list before departure as would have been the requirement, had they departed from an authorised tourist jetty.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Pang Yuk Ming said this at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, where the survivors of the tragedy are being treated.
“The jetty (in Tanjung Aru) is under the jurisdiction of the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) and the Marine Department.
“From what I understand, the jetty was built for villagers to use and not for tourist activities,” he said.
Pang said the three authorised tourist jetties here were Jesselton Point, Sutera Harbour Resort and Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort.
“But if you go via any unauthorised jetty, nobody can stop you… Nobody would know whether you have a proper permit and (boat) equipment.
“So if anything happens, nobody would know (why).”
Pang said the authorities were checking the registration of the catamaran to determine whether it was overloaded when it sank.
“If a tourist boat is registered in Sabah, by right it should carry (only) 12 passengers. But if it is registered in Labuan, (its capacity) is based on the size of the boat.
“So at this point, we cannot say if it was overloaded.”
Pang said until police confirmed otherwise, it was presumed that there were 28 tourists from China on the catamaran when it sank.
“Twenty-three people made their bookings online and their (reservations) were registered under Chau Nature Tours while another five people booked their trip with Golden Sailing here.
“At the moment, we will base (our numbers) on the initial passenger list given, until we receive confirmation from the police.”
Yesterday, Sabah police commissioner Ramli Din confirmed that 27 tourists had boarded the boat after one cancelled at the last minute.
The catamaran loaded with Chinese tourists on a Lunar New Year cruise, sank off the coast of Borneo after being battered by heavy waves.
Three of the tourists were found dead on Sunday while 22 people, including the captain, were rescued.
A search is ongoing for the passengers and crew who are still missing.
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