The Cowes Floating Bridge remains out of action today (Wednesday) following the latest embarrassing failure of the troubled vessel.
As reported by Island Echo over the weekend, the Cowes to East Cowes service was once again suspended on Saturday morning when yet another technical issue hit, this time with the hydraulic ram which operates the prow.
Floating Bridge No.6 went out of service in July for 10 days of maintenance, which soon turned into 14 weeks. Then, once the ‘Wight Elephant’ returned to operations on the River Medina, a hydraulic oil leak was discovered. Now, just 2 weeks after returning to service, a whole ram is being ripped out, inspected and repaired in a bid to get the chain ferry back up and running.
The latest inspections have revealed that one of the inner piston ends has sheared off and a fatigue crack is evident. As a result, all 4 corners of the vessel are now being checked.
On Saturday evening the Isle of Wight Council said that the floating bridge would remain out of action under at least Monday. Then, a local councillor was told that the vessel would be back in service by 05:00 on Tuesday. However, as of 09:00 on Wednesday morning – 4 days after the ram failed – the service remains out of action.
The Council says it is working hard with its contractors to ensure the issue is resolved ‘as quickly as possible’.
A foot passenger launch is in operation using chartered boats – an all too familiar sight for those travelling between East Cowes and Cowes.
Last month it was revealed that the Floating Bridge has cost the taxpayer a total of £7million to date, not including the most recent breakdowns.
The council’s legal discussions regarding the Floating Bridge are ongoing and will now include the latest problems.
Additional reporting by Louise Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
SEVEN MILLION in costs to date.
Vote this entire, incompetent and likely corrupt council OUT at the next given chance.
What with this, suspect building deals, and the en masse ruination of our countryside, wildlife and OUR standard of life as they build over huge swathes of our Island, NOT for Island people but for mainland over spill, who will then bring all their ‘traits’ with them, these cretins need to go.
Ensure YOU vote next time don’t leave it to others who are equally as apathetic as I know is tempting to do.
Hit them, as they do us, where it hurts, in their pocket.
Listen to War Veteran, he holds the same beliefs as I do. Well said. These councillors really don’t seem to care how much of OUR/YOUR council tax is continuously wasted on this floating embarrassment……..embarrassed, not them. They need to be voted out at the earliest opportunity. Go and make your vote count, please don’t leave it to other people.
The dodgy PCR test has found COVID on it, so will now have to be quarantined !!!
Can we, the islanders hold a public vote on what to do with this vessel? You all moan about it so why don’t we do something as clearly the council can’t.
Island Echo, feel free to reach out to me so we can get a public vote started.
Vote this council out, 7 million wasted and mass building to ruin this Island forever.
The sooner they all go, the better.
Not to mention the 9 million wasted on the St Marys “traffic flow improvement” joke.
Maybe a new more competent engineer team would be way more cost affective!
Obv have no clue.
Throwing tax payers money at old rope.its redic
All that money could have been better spent on disabled services out there
Shovel, hole, dig, dig, dig, repeat!
I love how all the local supposedly impartial press routinely refer to this embarrassment as the “Wight Elephant”. Such a fitting epithet.
Its long beyond a joke, in fact it’s actually a gross insult to each and every one of us that pays tax and wages to the council. Public enquiry time.
Yes and very long overdue. Suspend the entire council and get an administrator appointed, NOW.
Yes, public enquiry definitely needs to be instigated. The amount of money being wasted is pure incompetence on the council’s part.
Phew lucky it’s only taxpayer money being hosed up the wall – don’t worry though, a few extra yellow ‘safety’ lines and a hike in car parking charges should cover it, while the bureaucrats responsible can carry on as if nothing ever happened
Surely we can sue for public misuse of funds. It is bad enough nearly 16% of my council tax going to the council employees pension pot and now the rest is going to fund the white elephant.
Somebody give me legal advice then we can all sue and finish this terrible council off once and for all.
Is a shameful waste of money. A bridge across the Medina coming out/in at either The Stag, or at Northwood.. certainly the cost would have been worth it. The St Mary’s roundabout could have stayed , Coppin’s Bridge, would see less traffic… but oh no ! The council want 90 % of traffic to go to Newport, which has to be the dirtiest and ugliest town on this Island. Another white elephant is the awful looking council offices when coming into Newport from Staplers or Medina, even from St George’s…
Send the council leader out with a can of paint, some paint brushes and some sand paper to give the old one a coat of paint and get it back into service.
And what do you think that will do? Doubt he is capable of even opening the paint tin without spilling it.
So how much has this thing cost ,I call it a thing because it’s not a ferry , bridge or a boat . It spends more time doing nothing just like the council.
Don’t start me on St Mary’s round about. This was only done to give the road contractor somthink to do, instead of fixing the roads .
More profitable to do big alterations than fixing what they should be .
How on earth can a “fatigue crack” be present? The bloody thing hasn’t done any work yet!