GEORGE TOWN – The company leasing the “Pulau Pinang” ferry has found itself back at square one, despite the vessel being refloated after listing at the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT) for more than two weeks.
Printhero Merchandise Sdn Bhd chief executive, Abdul Hadi Abu Osman, told Scoop that the firm is awaiting an evaluation from contractors to determine the cost of redoing refurbishment works on the ferry, which is set to be converted into a floating museum.
“At the moment, I would like to let my (present) contractor settle the repair works first.
“Then I would need to call the three contractors who refurbished the ship to look into how much the cost would be to redo the refurbishment (for the vessel).
“They would then issue me new quotations,” he said when asked how much more funds he needs to complete the repairs and conversion of the vessel into a floating museum, originally slated for year-end launch.
Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman, Yeoh Soon Hin, had earlier posted on Facebook that the ferry had been brought to safety and was docked at the SPCT warehouse. He noted that the ferry was towed to the dock during high tide.
With the vessel now afloat, Hadi said that his company would no longer need to deploy the inflatable balloon used to stabilise the ferry, as previously mentioned by the PPC.
The ship managed to stay afloat as the volume of water in the ferry was lesser than on the outside and the hull leakage was of four inch diameter.
‘Aid from state would be helpful‘
On Friday, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow visited the vessel to inspect its condition. He was joined by PPC’s general manager Datuk V. Vijayaindiaran and the state’s Tourism and Creative Economy exco Wong Hon Wai.
Hadi revealed that he did not request assistance from Chow for the floating museum project during the visit, when asked about it.
However, he said that any form of aid from the state government would be helpful for the company in expediting the refurbishing works, which is expected to take a month.
“And of course, it (aid) would reduce the (financial) burden of the company,” he added.
Hadi said that his company is still financially capable of running the floating museum, despite the current constraints.
He shared that Printhero Merchandise runs various businesses such as food and beverage outlets, printing, and merchandise stores in various tourist destinations in the state as well as providing town planning consultancy services.
Additionally, the firm’s projection shows that revenues from ticketing and merchandising would help cover the ferry museum’s operational expenses.
“At the moment, we have no intention to open up the opportunity for other companies (to invest in the ferry museum) as the firm is still capable of managing its finances and still has enough (capital).
“It is just that this salvaging operation has increased our expenses,” he said when asked whether the firm would be open to getting a business partner that can invest in the floating museum project upon its launch, which would be postponed due to the listing incident.
Printhero Merchandise is leasing the ferry from the PPC after it was decommissioned. The ferry was built in 2002 and retired in 2019, while other iconic ferries were retired in 2021.
The company repaired and refurbished the ship from July 2021 until this month at Bagan Dalam Slipway in Butterworth, before towing it to SPCT early this month.
Meanwhile, Vijayaindiaran told Scoop that there needs to be a collective effort between the commission, Penang Port Sdn Bhd, the state government, and Printhero Merchandise to ensure that the floating museum will be up and running by all means necessary.
“We want this ferry to be the iconic landmark in Penang,” he said. – October 20, 2024