Ship makes ferry big impact on first arrival (From Daily Echo)

Ship makes ferry big impact on first arrival

7:57am Wednesday 3rd September 2008 in

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Campaigners fighting the introduction of controversial new cross-Solent ferries say they are even larger than they feared after getting their first look at the vessels.

There was anger from protesters as the first of the new Wightlink vessels arrived in its new home at Lymington.

Currently moored alongside Lymington Pier railway station, the Croatian-built Wight Light towers above the yachts anchored in the Lymington River.

Roger Wilson, father of Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Pippa Wilson, said: "It's even bigger than we thought and the diagrams suggested."

Dr Don Mackenzie, a leading member of the Lymington Society, said Wight Light appeared to be twice the height of the existing ferries.

He added: "It's massive - much bigger than I expected it to be - and I'm told it creates a huge wash. The new vessels will have a dominating impact on the river and will be very intimidating to sailors, especially those in small craft."

Wight Light is one of three replacement ferries due to enter service as part of a £26m investment in the future of the busy cross-Solent route.

They are longer and taller than the existing vessels, which were built 35 years ago, and displace almost twice as much water.

Critics claim the ships' wash will damage environmentally-sensitive parts of the riverbank by accelerating the erosion that is already taking place.

They can carry 65 vehicles, 15 more than the present craft, and have also sparked fears that they will result in even more traffic using already overcrowded roads.

Lymington River Association and other organisations in the town have spent months fighting the introduction of the new ferries.

Last night the Royal Lymington Yacht Club warned that the vessels were likely to have an adverse impact on sailing in the river.

A statement on the club's website said: "We hope that Wightlink can mitigate these impacts by operational changes but some will remain."

However, Wightlink said sea trials conducted in Croatia had established that Wight Light produced "very little" wash at speeds of up to six knots.

The company added that a study carried out by ABP Mer had confirmed Wightlink's assessment that the ferries' impact would be no greater than that of the existing ships.

The second vessel, Wight Sky, is due to leave Croatia next week.

Andrew Wilson, Wightlink chief executive, said: "The sea trials undertaken by Wight Light went according to plan and provided further evidence that the new Wight-class vessels will be ideal replacements for the existing Lymington-Yarmouth fleet."

Wight Light will enter service later this year if sea trials in the Solent in the next two weeks prove successful.