Ocean Park report sought after cable-car disruptions

Judy Cui and Jamie Liu

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department requested Ocean Park to submit a report regarding the cable-car service disruptions that prompted its upper park, the Summit, to close for half a day yesterday.

The department said it received a notification from the park at 12.30pm regarding the cable-car service disruption, and immediately deployed officers to the scene.

"We noted that Ocean Park suspended its cable-car service after routine inspections revealed abnormalities in the pulleys of one of the cable car towers," it said.

After inspecting and adjusting the pulley, and fully inspecting all other pulleys of the cable-car system to ensure safety, service was subsequently resumed, according to the department.

"The department has requested Ocean Park to submit a report on the incident and will follow up to determine the cause of the issue," it added.

But the disruption left some visitors leaving the amusement park in disappointment when the temporary closure was announced.

As Ocean Express - the alternative transport method to the upper park - was also undergoing its annual inspection yesterday, transport services between the upper and lower parks were suspended, leading to the Summit's temporary closure. The park announced the temporary closure in a statement in the morning, saying the cable-car service was suspended due to signal issues.

A thorough inspection was conducted to ensure visitor safety, it added.

The park said it had informed visitors about the closure before entry and apologized to those affected.

It later announced that the cable car and Summit operations resumed at 4.15pm.

Some visitors expressed their disappointment with the service disruption, which forced them to leave the park early.

"It's a waste of time and money. The admission tickets are expensive but we were denied entry to the Summit," a Singaporean visitor said.

A Hongkonger, surnamed Ho, said: "Many visitors were not aware of the service suspension until they arrived. If the park informed us online, we would not have shown up and would have chosen another day to visit the park."