– People cried in fear – NRK

During bad weather, the motorboat was due to dock at Sleneset on Luroy on Sunday. Due to the high tides, it was not easy.

Therefore, they had to use the walkway on the lower deck.

When the passengers start to board, the ship drifts too far away. The gangway begins to slide off the boat.

The first passengers get on board, while the third must turn halfway through boarding.

– Very close to an accident

– He was very close to an accident. People were crying with fear, writes Kari Nedgård from Onøy in the Facebook group “Oppslagstavla Sleneset”.

She was the first to board the ship and describes it as a dramatic experience. Among those who came on board were also parents with young children and young people.

Boreal canceled all calls to Sleneset on the Helgeland shuttle right after the incident due to bad weather.

– But this is not bad weather, is it? It is a normal rainy weather, since we like to have it at regular intervals most of the months of the year. You must reconsider and let people get the dock and employee back before lives are lost, writes Nedgård.

He tells Rana Blad that it is a huge setback for the transportation supply if it happens that the speedboat does not work due to weather like today.

– It is the nerve of society around which uncertainty is created. People go to the hospital, people go to school and work, he tells the newspaper, adding that he sent a non-compliance report about the incident to 177.

Will make adjustments

Boreal responds to an email sent to NRK that it was the high tides and bad weather in the area that created challenges for the crew, but that safety is something they prioritize.

– The ship was well moored with two rammers. During boarding, there was a strong gust of wind that pulled the ship slightly off the dock.

They believe that the crew was in control of the situation and that they stopped boarding until the ship was safely brought back to the dock.

– We see that we have to make some adjustments to the catwalk to be able to take care of days with weather conditions like the current one.

This is not the first time the county has been criticized

The Nordland County Municipality has implemented large-scale cuts in several places. Earlier this year, they also received referrals for price increases on ferry tickets.

And now there are problems due to cuts in administrative services.

Transport councilor Bent-Joacim Bentzen (Sp) previously told NRK that they spend NOK 38 million on docks and stopovers, which also includes freight forwarders.

In total, the county will save NOK 17 million on these cuts.

In Sleneset alone, the county council saves just over half a million a year by using its own dock.

Kari Nedgård from Onøy is critical of the political priorities that are set in the county.

– The two who worked aboard the speedboat did what they could. This is not a criticism of them. It is a political priority that underlies the way it is. We must dare to be able to say that out loud, he tells Rana Blad.

The county: – Get used

Most recently, on Thursday last week, NRK wrote about the Sleneset pier, where residents protested the Nordland County Municipality’s saving money by laying off employees in Lurøy.

Locals worry that the ship will not be able to dock when the wind and weather improve during the fall. In general, they believe that the ferry dock is not suitable for receiving the speedboat. Do they have cause for concern?

– Normally, a period of habituation is required to make a stop at new docks. The dock is adapted to accommodate vessels much larger than the speedboat and adjustments have recently been made for the speedboat to call. So we don’t see any cause for concern, Tone Øverlie, acting head of transportation for Nordland County Municipality, told NRK.