A vehicle comes down the ramp of the ferry during the trial run.

Bandar Seri Begawan - The first trial for the car ferry operation between Serasa and Menumbok in Sabah was conducted yesterday. During the sea trial, all relevant parties could address any shortcomings that may arise for the preparation of the upcoming service.

Hj Mahmud bin Hj Mohd Daud, Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications, and senior officers at the Ministry and Ports Department witnessed the trial run.

The event was a follow up to the meetings held between Brunei and Malaysia. Malaysia's Labuan Ferry Corporations Sdn Bhd will operate the service between Menumbok and Serasa, while Brunei has recently appointed a local company, PKL Jaya Sdn Bhd, to be the operator for the Serasa and Menumbok route.

The Malaysian vessel, Warisan Perdana, arrived at around 12 noon yesterday from Labuan.

The car ferry terminal is one of the projects under the National Development Plan at a cost of $1.7 million. Facilities provided include cabin booths, public toilets, car park, weighbridge and staff parking for departments to operate such as the Immigration, Police, and Health, Customs, Fisheries and other relevant agencies.

Once operational, the ferry service would reduce travel time between Brunei and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah significantly from the current six to seven hours by land to only two hours by sea, Bernama reported.

Meanwhile, Labuan Ferry Corporation Sdn Bhd Maritime Consultant, K Pathmanathan said Menumbok already has ferry services and facilities in place. "We are just waiting from the Brunei side to settle some operational requirements such as tender and some minor projects.

"The journey from Labuan to Serasa yesterday took three hours and 15 minutes. I can only tell you the journey time from Serasa to Menumbok tomorrow (Friday). The ferry can accommodate 20 to 30 vehicles per trip with 200 passengers and we plan to offer the Serasa-Menumbok service daily," he added.

He added the cost of the car ferry service depends on the facility and fuel consumption. It is a long time hope of the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) project to have regular passenger service facilities.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Comments (11)

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Visit temburong in just few minutes ......
written by annie , July 10, 2009

why not build a road or bridge that can join brunei with temburong??? so no need so difficult for those staying at temburong 'beliun' to bsb... after have bridge or road perhaps government can charge each vehicle few dollars like the one when we want to go Miri. Much more convenient... hhmm... i wonder if it will really happen........... maybe another 100 years.......................................................

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Sea Journey Might be Fun
written by Urang Brunei , July 10, 2009

From labuan to Serasa 3 hours. From serasa to Menumbok KK ? May be 9 hours. Is there enough ferry on a daily service trips? This is really good actually, we could see the scenery of the sea.

This will be popular amongst Bruneians for another way to reach KK via ferry. Especially school holidays, I think They should prepare the influx usage before hand.

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cool stuff
written by Z , July 10, 2009

This is great stuff.. save fuel! save time! dpt tidur~ hehehe

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enquiry
written by developemt praise , July 10, 2009

1)how often is the service daily

2)And what time does it operate from the Brunei side?

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...
written by Lv.Degodam , July 10, 2009

Let's hope the charges are reasonable. Anyway thanks for the effort that's been made for our convenience. We do love KK as our holiday destination. Too bad we can't go there at the time being.

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SERASA/MENUMBOK CHARGES
written by travellers , July 10, 2009

Assalamualaikum...

Alhamdulillah akhirnya kesampaian jua kerajaan kan membuat perjalanan laut dgn membawa transport ke menumbok ani.Akan tetapi perlu diingat jua pasal tambangnya....mudahan nda mahal ,mun mahal nda jua guna tu.....

Kepada jabatan yang dipertanggung jawabkan jgn main angguk2 saja nda memantau harga tersebut....

Biartah kemudahan ani dapat dirasa olih semua Rakyaat Brunei Dan Penduduk yang bermastautin di Brunei ani....

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Convenient
written by T , July 10, 2009

While it is promising to go to KK in shorter amount of time, one has to expect a LONNGG RIDEE WHILE IN FERRY, unless of course there's something to do while traveling. Maybe restaurants? or something.

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Advantage & disadvantage
written by ConcernedStudent , July 10, 2009

advantage: Shorter time travel between Brunei and KK.

disadvantage: MORE outflow of Brunei money into Malaysia

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Menumbok to KK drive takes 2.5 hrs max.
written by Labuan , July 10, 2009

To drive from Menumbok to KK takes 2.5 hrs max. Staying on the ferry for 2+ hrs could be a challenge especially when this particular ferry does not have air conditioned passenger cabin.

I traveled on this ferry a couple of time before because it used to service the Labuan-Menumbok route. It also has a sister ferry called Wawasan Perdana which is currently servicing the Labuan-Menumbok route which is bigger and much better than this ferry. It can take up to 70 cars and has covered and air conditioned passenger cabin.

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...
written by Kagat , July 10, 2009

Jangan lupa bawa joran pancing untuk membuang boring 3-6 jam kali ah.

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serasa to menumbok via ferry
written by Ferry Corsten , July 10, 2009

yes its a long journey via ferry from serasa to menumbok sabah crossing lonnggggg sea i've seen it from google map :S

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