The captain of a ferry that broke down last night said that it “shouldn’t be running right now.”

And passengers on the Resolute, which was en route from Hamilton to Rockaway, overheard him mutter “maybe now people will listen.”

The diesel-powered twin-engined commuter ferry broke down just after 5.30pm off Morgan’s Point.

One passenger, who asked not to be named, said: “The engines went off altogether — at least that’s what it sounded like.

“The captain came out and said ‘we’ve blown an engine’ and reassured the passengers.”

The passenger added the ferry was dead in the water for less than ten minutes before it got underway again and completed its journey.

The Department of Tourism and Transport had not responded to requests for comment by press time last night.