The Cowes Floating Bridge will be out of action for around 6 weeks to enable a 5-yearly full safety inspection to take place, the Isle of Wight Council has announced.
The works will involve preparation with the vessel berthed at Wight Shipyard in East Cowes, followed by a trip to a dry dock facility in Falmouth.
The inspection, carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, is a legal requirement for all passenger ferries. It will take place from 7th March until 22nd April.
A passenger launch will be available throughout the period when the vessel is not in service.
Councillor Phil Jordan has said:
“We knew this inspection was going to be needed, and to comply with the regulations it cannot be delayed any further.
“Obviously I am disappointed this will mean another break in service for Floating Bridge 6, but I can confirm this planned downtime is nothing to do with the existing issues we have been experiencing on the vessel.
“We will also take advantage of this chance to do some other routine works to the floating bridge, such as repainting, works to electrical systems and an update to the on-board CCTV.
Article continues below this advertisement “This will not extend the time of the inspection, but it will mean the vessel will not need to come out of service for these works at other times in the future.”
A spokesman for the MCA added:
“The Out of Water Survey, carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, is a requirement for all chain ferries, and occurs once every five years.
“We will be inspecting Floating Bridge 6 as we would any other chain ferry in accordance with the Code of Practice for Chain Ferries acting as a Floating Bridge.”
The work involved cannot conceivably take six weeks, even allowing for transit to/from Falmouth (is there no nearer slipway?). MCA knows how politically-sensitive this ferry is; you’d think the finger would be extracted.
Agree with you wholeheartedly. 6 Weeks ? And where did they pull a rabbit from a hat about service after 5 years? Lie after lie – they should be in Parliament. Like I’ve said before – just build a bloody bridge.
Just wait until you find out how much this six weeks activity is going to cost us – for the survey and all the transport costs. The last figure I saw in the press was £250,000. Yes, another quarter of a million pounds cost to us taxpayers !
Dave it will be my intention to withold my council tax until this Whole matter has been fully investigated and not I.O.W marking their own homework . i am just bloody sick of this and all the bloody lies .
But it’s only done about 3 years work, if that so should have ages to go before an inspection.
And then choose Easter to take it out use.
Never mind. Give the council staff a pay rise anyway
Rose ,if cuts to services are needed why not their pay increase be cut ,why always our Services, then the Council will increase the council tax for their pay rise .
Why wait, can’t it be done now and be back before Easter?
Love to see how they get it to Falmouth????.
Tug boats ???
Don’t see it getting there under it’s own steam!!!!!
And mediation in March as well !
Cannot understand how mediation will resolve this heap of money guzzling junk ……
How utterly ridiculous. Go away and come back with something sensible. I know we’ve become, quite sensibly, more safety conscious but when you have proposals like this its time to think again.
and they couldn’t do it when it was out of action before – how convenient they are doing it now – I bet there is more to this than they are telling -more like they are having to do work on the hull in a dry dock and having the inspection done at the same time.
This council will not disclose the full facts to the ratepayers, especialy this floating elephant and now formaly Camp hill prison site ,just like the redesign of St Marys Roundabout ,St Goeges Way, now new traffic light system ,I.O.W Councils letter to me now states that the land at the former Camp hill prison site is proposed and designated for housing ,how many will be constructed on the Camp hill prison site I.O,W Council will not disclose this amount .
iCouncil will not tell you .
Just to think that with luck it will sink enroute to Falmouth.
Do us all a big favour and pull the plug out as you pass Plymouth.
Build a bridge and bin it, Oh and put our council tax up again. Time we returned to hampshire and isle of wight council
Five weeks, it’s not a cruise ship.
Did it take that lone for a safety check on the old bridge ?
The new County Council chain ferry between Cowes and East Cowes broke down six hours after going into service, and engineers has to be called from the mainland.” Isle of Wight Mercury, January 30th. 1976. Nothing is entirely new.
Never know, may get lucky and it sinks to the bottom of the solent on the way over …lol…
Surely to goodness, this could have been done whilst the extensive work was carried out or, now whilst it’s out of action again. Total lack of foresight, AND lack of appreciation of the public’s needs. Pay rise,? Certai ly not for the planners!
May as well leave the useless hunk of junk down in Falmouth. Or even better sink the sodding thing on the way down there.
Even better, get the navy to use it for target practice.
Oh what a surprise not! I bet you 100/1 on it will fail the inspection
Surely they could do the checks up at Cliftongrade
And these clowns are getting a pay rise
Take me less than a minute to do the check. It’s not safe. Done.
More of our Council Tax payments wasted. It costs money to transport to a dry dock and inspect!!!!
Never ending ‘money pit’
There are plenty of dry docks in portsmouth dockyard they could use
Wave goodbye, as she is unlikely to return to these waters.
At least a ‘failed test’ by the MCA would support the litigation to get some money back.
another fob off story, it is there intention while out of action again for another 6 weeks, to do any repairs then lets just see how long after being back in service it breaks down again ,the council (Colin Rowland ) assurd me in wrighting that the I.O.W Council are now in a legal dispute arising from all the problems that has arisen .this means the company that designed this vessel and the builders, this letter is now in the hands of I.O.W Observer .
Remember The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ? Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach blow up the bridge the two opposing armies are fighting over. Where are they now in this time of need ?