# The 1983 Sentosa cable car tragedy

**URL:** <https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/the-1983-sentosa-cable-car-tragedy/65750>\
**Category:** Marine Incidents\
**Created:** [March 28, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/the-1983-sentosa-cable-car-tragedy/65750 "2023-03-28T13:16:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![powerabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@powerabout](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/powerabout)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/the-1983-sentosa-cable-car-tragedy/65750/1 "2023-03-28T13:16:02Z")

</div>

she’ll be right has been used before…

> **[From The Straits Times archives: The 1983 Sentosa cable car tragedy](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/from-the-straits-times-archives-the-1983-sentosa-cable-car-tragedy)**
>
> On Jan 29, 1983, seven passengers died when two Sentosa cable cars plunged into the sea after the cableway was struck by the derrick of an oil drilling vessel. Here is a look-back at what happened that night, and the dramatic rescue operation that...

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/the-1983-sentosa-cable-car-tragedy/65750/2 "2023-03-28T16:04:48Z")

</div>

Yes I remember this incident very well.  
The Eniwetok was not intending to pass under the cables but was leaving a wharf very close to the Cable Car to head towards Western Anchorage.  
This was before the causeway to Sentosa was built so the tidal flow in Keppel Harbour was very strong at times, thus the tugs did not manage to control the drillship as she moved off the wharf.

PS\> The rescue operation was directed by the then Commander of SAF’s Special Forces, Colonel Lee Hsieng Loong. (He is now the Prime Minister in Singapore):

> **[PM Lee meets Australian helicopter pilot who helped save lives in 1983...](https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/pm-lee-meets-australian-helicopter-pilot-who-helped-save-lives-1983-sentosa-cable-car)**
>
> CANBERRA - For almost three hours on Jan 29, 1983, Australian helicopter pilot Geoff Ledger, then 27, battled to keep his helicopter steady near Sentosa amid the wind and rain. Seven people had died after a drillship snagged the cable car ropeway...