Post by Starbucks Queen on Nov 4, 2005 15:30:56 GMT -8
The report is from England.. I just wonder - could this happen in Canada or in the USA (WSF) too ??
More on this from Western Morning News, Devon 13:09
OBESITY THREAT TO FERRY SAFETY
Next Story | Previous Story | Back to list
11:00 - 04 November 2005
Britain's expanding waistlines have forced a safety review on
Cornish ferries.
The boats' stability has in the past been calculated using an
average passenger weight of 64kg. (10st 1lb) But that figure dates
back to the 1950s - and marine safety officials have been alarmed to
discover that since then, the average Briton has put on one and a
half stone.
So now, all ferries in Cornwall have got to carry out stability
tests with a full complement of passengers, based on the new average
weight - 75kg (11st 8lb).
One company keen to get people to help test its ferries is offering
free pasties and beer to volunteers.
The new stipulation comes in the wake of a report into an accident
on the Norfolk Broads when one person drowned after a cabin cruiser
capsized. The investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation
Branch found that the ten people on board weighed an average of more
than 75kg.
One ferry company that will have to carry out the tests is
Enterprise Boats, which runs four 127 capacity boats between
Falmouth and Truro.
Its spokesman Austin Johns said: "I haven't noticed passengers
getting fatter. If they can fit through the ferry doors they can get
on.
"But if the MCA says people are getting fatter we have to abide by
that.
"It is a bit silly, isn't it, because all they are doing is going
down the river, they are not going out to sea."
The new rule is in line with a growing trend towards obesity in the
population. The average woman in Britain now weighs 63.5 kg (10st)
compared to 54 kg (8st 5lb) back in the 1950s.
With post-war rationing now a dim memory for most, 23 per cent of
women and 21 per cent of men in the UK are now obese, according to
Government statistics.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman Fred Caygill said: "In the
light of the general increase in the average weight of the
population it is deemed important to review the small passenger boat
fleet and set the standard passenger weight of 75kg throughout."
The tests, which must be carried out, in time for the new season
next spring, involve unevenly distributing the weight around the
boat, to ensure it does not tip over.
Falmouth ferry companies are opting to use human guinea pigs to make
sure their boats are safe for larger people.
The Cornwall Ferry Company, Enterprise Boats, K & S Cruises and
Falmouth Pleasure Cruises, need 120 volunteers to help them test
their boats on November 15.
As people board the boat each will be weighed and marked with a
sticker.
Out on the water two-thirds of the passengers will then be asked to
walk to one end of the boat to test its "heeling moment". The
exercise will then be repeated on each of the ferries one-by-one.
Garrick Royle, operations manager, stressed that no-one will be in
any danger.
Lunch will be supplied to get passengers through the day and
afterwards a disco boat will cruise across Falmouth Bay with a free
bar for the first two hours.
Mr Royle, whose company runs passenger services from St Mawes to
Falmouth, said: "I have done it in the past using water weights but
that is time-consuming because we have got to move them around. If
we have passengers they move around themselves.
"Each boat has a number of people it can take. Our boats take 100
people so we have got to get 750kg on board."
Out on the water two-thirds of the passengers will be asked to walk
to one end of the boat to test its "heeling moment". The exercise
will then be repeated on each of the ferries one-by-one. "All you
have to do is sit on a ferry, move a bit and then get on the next
one," said Mr Royle.
He said the MCA's decision to increase the weight of the average
passenger to 75kg (11.8st) was "mainly because people are getting
larger, but it is also to increase safety, and if people have bags
and shopping it does add weight to the boat".
In East Devon, Mark Rackley, who runs the passenger ferry across the
Exe estuary, from Starcross to Exmouth, said he would be carrying
out the tests using containers filled with water. "People are bigger
than they used to be," he said.
More on this from Western Morning News, Devon 13:09
OBESITY THREAT TO FERRY SAFETY
Next Story | Previous Story | Back to list
11:00 - 04 November 2005
Britain's expanding waistlines have forced a safety review on
Cornish ferries.
The boats' stability has in the past been calculated using an
average passenger weight of 64kg. (10st 1lb) But that figure dates
back to the 1950s - and marine safety officials have been alarmed to
discover that since then, the average Briton has put on one and a
half stone.
So now, all ferries in Cornwall have got to carry out stability
tests with a full complement of passengers, based on the new average
weight - 75kg (11st 8lb).
One company keen to get people to help test its ferries is offering
free pasties and beer to volunteers.
The new stipulation comes in the wake of a report into an accident
on the Norfolk Broads when one person drowned after a cabin cruiser
capsized. The investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation
Branch found that the ten people on board weighed an average of more
than 75kg.
One ferry company that will have to carry out the tests is
Enterprise Boats, which runs four 127 capacity boats between
Falmouth and Truro.
Its spokesman Austin Johns said: "I haven't noticed passengers
getting fatter. If they can fit through the ferry doors they can get
on.
"But if the MCA says people are getting fatter we have to abide by
that.
"It is a bit silly, isn't it, because all they are doing is going
down the river, they are not going out to sea."
The new rule is in line with a growing trend towards obesity in the
population. The average woman in Britain now weighs 63.5 kg (10st)
compared to 54 kg (8st 5lb) back in the 1950s.
With post-war rationing now a dim memory for most, 23 per cent of
women and 21 per cent of men in the UK are now obese, according to
Government statistics.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman Fred Caygill said: "In the
light of the general increase in the average weight of the
population it is deemed important to review the small passenger boat
fleet and set the standard passenger weight of 75kg throughout."
The tests, which must be carried out, in time for the new season
next spring, involve unevenly distributing the weight around the
boat, to ensure it does not tip over.
Falmouth ferry companies are opting to use human guinea pigs to make
sure their boats are safe for larger people.
The Cornwall Ferry Company, Enterprise Boats, K & S Cruises and
Falmouth Pleasure Cruises, need 120 volunteers to help them test
their boats on November 15.
As people board the boat each will be weighed and marked with a
sticker.
Out on the water two-thirds of the passengers will then be asked to
walk to one end of the boat to test its "heeling moment". The
exercise will then be repeated on each of the ferries one-by-one.
Garrick Royle, operations manager, stressed that no-one will be in
any danger.
Lunch will be supplied to get passengers through the day and
afterwards a disco boat will cruise across Falmouth Bay with a free
bar for the first two hours.
Mr Royle, whose company runs passenger services from St Mawes to
Falmouth, said: "I have done it in the past using water weights but
that is time-consuming because we have got to move them around. If
we have passengers they move around themselves.
"Each boat has a number of people it can take. Our boats take 100
people so we have got to get 750kg on board."
Out on the water two-thirds of the passengers will be asked to walk
to one end of the boat to test its "heeling moment". The exercise
will then be repeated on each of the ferries one-by-one. "All you
have to do is sit on a ferry, move a bit and then get on the next
one," said Mr Royle.
He said the MCA's decision to increase the weight of the average
passenger to 75kg (11.8st) was "mainly because people are getting
larger, but it is also to increase safety, and if people have bags
and shopping it does add weight to the boat".
In East Devon, Mark Rackley, who runs the passenger ferry across the
Exe estuary, from Starcross to Exmouth, said he would be carrying
out the tests using containers filled with water. "People are bigger
than they used to be," he said.
It would be interesting to see how BC Ferries averages weight for their capacity... or would that probably fall under federal regulations?