Labuan ferry schedule back to normal 

LABUAN, Nov 2 -- From Nov 1, the roll-on, roll-off ferry services in the duty-free island here to the mainland Sabah will resume according to the regular timetable. 

Labuan Marine Department director Alimuddin Amirudin said the back-to-normal ferry service schedule was in accordance with the lifting of the interstate travel ban by the Sabah government.

“Following the relaxation on the interstate travel requirements from Labuan to Sabah via Menumbok, we agreed to allow the ferry services back to normal beginning this month,” he told Bernama today.

Alimuddin said eight trips between Labuan and Menumbok were approved for two ferry operators namely Labuan Mainland Link Sdn Bhd and Juta Bonus Sdn Bhd.

Labuan Mainland Link operates three ferries of Kimanis 1, Putrajaya 1 and Goodwill Star with six trips, while Galaxy and Blue Ocean ferry operated by Juta Bonus with two trips daily.

Alimuddin reminded ferry operators to continue to enforce the standard operating procedures onboard of their ferries to help mitigate the possible infections of COVID-19.

“Enforcement (SOPs) will be carried out regularly on the ferry and at the terminal especially during public holidays and weekends to ensure the safety of ferries are at the high level before voyage,” he said.

Sabah has released the guidelines for entry procedures into the state for Malaysians and non-Malaysians effective Monday (Nov 1), as it begins to open for domestic tourism.

While Malaysians are allowed to enter the state for social visits with conditions, only certain categories of non-citizens are allowed to travel to Sabah under the updated ruling.

All Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Labuan travelling to Sabah must show proof of negative results in COVID-19 tests (RT-PCR or RTK-Ag), and adults must be fully vaccinated, while those from 12 to 18 years old must receive at least one dose of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine.

Children under 12 years old travelling to Sabah must be accompanied by fully vaccinated parents or guardians.

-- BERNAMA