MMA had known of slack in Blue Lagoon pontoon chain

The Malta Maritime Authority did not deem it necessary to take action on a loose underwater chain that a mooring expert believes could have contributed to the overturning of a temporary pontoon in Comino's Blue Lagoon.

The pontoon, which caused two people to be injured when it capsized on July 25, was installed at the beginning of July and secured in place with a number of chains.

However, one of these chains was loose and could possibly have been a factor in the incident, believes an expert on moorings, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The expert, an engineer, said the fact that the chain was not taut could have led to tilting. An authority spokesman said the slack in the chain was noted a few days before the incident but immediate action was not considered necessary since the chains were there not to prevent the pontoon from rolling but to keep it in place.

"Immediate action was not deemed necessary since the function of the chains attached to the sinkers is to primarily keep the pontoon in position rather than to prevent rolling. It is acceptable to have an amount of slack in anchoring chains," the spokesman said.

The authority's investigations into why the pontoon capsized were still under way, he said, adding "it would therefore be premature to link the slack in that chain to the incident".

On the day of the incident, the MMA had said the pontoon overturned because it was overloaded with people.

The MMA had installed the pontoon to be used as a transfer platform to allow passengers to embark and disembark from the ferry boats to the shore without the boats getting too close to the bathing area.

Now that the pontoon has capsized, the swimmers' zone has reverted to that of previous years until further notice. The MMA said it was assessing the feasibility of any possible alternative arrangements.

The temporary pontoon cost the authority €36,875. It said it was still assessing the cause of the incident, the damage caused, as well as the repairs required.

The MMA said a few days after the pontoon was installed, it found damage to one of the floating concrete slabs and a broken gangway handlebar.

This damage could possibly be associated with vandalism but the MMA said it had no conclusive evidence to this effect. Repairs were done within 24 hours where this was necessary. However, the MMA said the damage had no impact or bearing on the incident.

mxuereb@timesofmalta.com