By LUKE VOOGT
The owner of a ferry dumped on Corio Bay must reveal his plans for the vessel by 16 June, according to Victoria’s channels authority.
Victorian Regional Channels Authority (VRCA) set the deadline after moving Queen of Melbourne to Corio Quay last month.
The ferry had sat disused at anchor on the bay for nearly a year.
VRCA commercial manager Kas Szakiel said a disused meatworks wharf at Corio Quay South was the safest available location for the ferry.
Leaving the ferry in the bay at the mercy of winter storms was “too dangerous,” he said.
“The biggest fear for us was that it could break its anchor and damage other objects.”
The VRCA was struggling to determine whether the ferry had a new owner, Mr Szakiel said.
He had been dealing with Farooq Qamar, who owned the ferry when it arrived on the bay, but was now in talks with a second man, Ahmad Ayad.
“We’re trying to find that out (the ferry ownership),” Mr Szakiel said.
Berthing the ferry cost the VCRA nothing but it had incurred engineering and legal costs from preparing the wharf and trying to determine the ferry’s future, he said.
Mr Szakiel was unable to rule out seizing the vessel if the owner failed to meet the deadline.
“I’m not a lawyer, so I wouldn’t rule anything in or out.”
The Queen of Melbourne has had a troublesome history since Mr Qamar bought it in Norway for $300,000 in 2014.
A standoff between Mr Qamar and ship captain Stephan Tate left the ferry stranded on the bay in May last year.
