BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

A SECOND car-passenger ferry travelling between Labuan and Muara will be in operation around the end of this month.

The MV Goodwill Star ran a trial run yesterday from Labuan to Muara, landing at the Serasa Car Ferry Terminal at around 12 noon, having left Labuan at 9:30 am.

Ahmad Hj Tuah from Tegap Sdn Bhd said the MV Goodwill Star can carry around 180 saloon cars and 23 trailers.

He said that they expect the ferry to be open for operations by the end of May, with a daily schedule of going from Labuan at 9.30am to Brunei and leaving for Labuan at 2:30pm.

The new service will supplement an existing Muara-Labuan route run by MV Shuttle Hope, which goes from Muara to Labuan in the morning and returns from Labuan in the afternoon.

According to Ahmad, the addition of the new service hopes to complement efforts to bring greater connectivity to the BIMP-EAGA region.

According to a report from Bernama, the new ferry is operated by Labuan Mainland Link Sdn Bhd, which also operates the MV Shuttle Hope.

The report stated that Labuan Mainland Link Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Chin Hong Vui said the ferry would provide one trip daily to Menumbok and Muara with a capacity to carry over 100 vehicles and some 500 passengers per trip.

“We hope there is no more rush and panic-buying of ferry tickets which usually happens during the year-end holiday season,” he said.

The Brunei Times