A commuter is calling for better safety precautions on the Island's ferries after he saw a woman fall and break her leg.

He claims that despite the slippery deck of Warbaby Fox, there were no wet floor signs, no anti-slip mats and apart from the pilot, the crew lacked basic medical training and equipment.

Yesterday, the Department of Marine and Ports refuted the claims, stating that all ferry crews are trained in first aid, and have adequate equipment.

According to a spokesperson, the woman fell because she tripped over a ledge.

"As she entered the cabin she tripped over an inch-high weather seal [at] the main weather door," he stated. "And as she tried to gain her footing she landed awkwardly on her right foot."

However the passenger, who gave his name as Max Constantine, said the woman would not have fallen had proper safety measures been in place. And he insisted that another woman told him she had fallen the same way a week earlier.

He said of the more recent accident: "To my horror, and I'm sure everyone's around me, the woman tried to stand up only to find out that her heel had taken the place of her toes and hung limply on the floor.

"The floor was extremely slippery. There was no signage anywhere saying 'caution, wet floor'. There were no preventive measures in place to stop people from falling, and the crew, aside from the pilot, stood around scratching their heads as they had no basic medical training or medical apparatus to splint the woman's leg or foot."

He continued: "If the woman that fell is someone that has to walk around all day, her entire livelihood could be taken away from her. If this is the case, the Bermuda Government should take complete and full responsibility for their negligence and it will be the taxpayers paying for the Government's laziness in not installing proper measures to stop these sorts of occurrences from happening."

The Marine and Ports spokesperson admitted that since the incident, the weather seal on two ferries Warbaby Fox and J.L. Cecil Smith have been marked with black and yellow caution tape. However he insisted that proper care had been given.

"A witness to the incident, and to the care given to the passenger whilst awaiting the emergency services from Port Royal by the crew, states that the crew acted very professional in the care of the passenger," he stated.