New shipping levers for Amsterdam ferries to prevent accidents

Amsterdam transport company GVB decided to replace the shipping levers on all its ferries that sail across the IJ. The company hopes that this will help prevent accidents when the ferries dock, AT5 reports.

The shipping lever of the ferry is used to sail forwards or backwards. These will be replaced "as soon as possible", Alexandra van Huffelen, director of GVB, said to the broadcaster. "A technician has already started."

In the mean time, ferry skippers were instructed to sail slowly. "So that if a shipping lever should break again and they again collide with the side, that is a gentle collision", Van Huffelen said. There will also be GVB employees on board the ferries in future, to warn passengers if a collision threatens so that they can brace themselves.

There have been three incidents of a ferry hitting an Amsterdam quay over the past two weeks. The most recent one happened on Tuesday afternoon. Two people were injured, according to Het Parool. On Friday the same thing happened, but there were no injuries. Last week Sunday 13 people were hurt when the ferry crashed into the quay at Amsterdam Central Station.