Was the Joola, a coastal ferry, in high seas when it capsized?
The marine consultants who supervised the construction of the ferry, Ingo Schlueter, in Germany, told BBC News Online that as a coastal ferry, the Joola was allowed to travel as far as 20 nautical miles (37 km) off the coast. More importantly, it had to be no more than six hours away from the coast. According to a diver who took part in the rescue efforts, the Joola was 35 km off the Gambian coast when it capsized. But the ferry was about 11 hours away from the coast: it had left Ziguinchor, in the southern province of Casamance, around noon, and capsized around 11pm. Was the Joola seaworthy? The Joola had only recently resumed service after undergoing repairs. The ferry, which normally travelled between Dakar and Ziguinchor twice a week, now did just one voyage per week as one of the engines had been repaired and needed to be run in. Journalists who travelled on board the ferry on 10 September, when it resumed service, reported a number of problems. The director general of the company
