Controversial ferries’ start date is delayed

7:01am Friday 16th May 2008

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CONTROVERSIAL plans to introduce larger ferries on a busy cross-Solent route have been delayed by up to six weeks, it has been revealed.

The £10m vessels earmarked for the Lymington to Yarmouth crossing will be late arriving in the UK and are not now due to enter service until after the summer.

Wightlink's hopes of introducing the Croatian-built boats in time for the busy holiday period have been dashed.

But harbour bosses have welcomed the revelation that the craft will not begin operating until after the sailing season, when the Lymington River is crowded.

The delay was announced at a meeting of Lymington Harbour Commissioners.

Harbourmaster Ryan Willegers said Wightlink wanted to introduce the ferries in time for the school holidays but the first commercial sailings were now unlikely to take place until September or even October.

"It means the vessels won't enter service until the river is quiet," he said.

"Wightlink will then have six months to work through any operational issues before the river starts filling up again.

"Common sense suggests it would be preferable to introduce the new ferries after the height of the sailing season - and that's where we now find ourselves.

"Crews will have a whole winter of practical experience under their belt before the river gets busy."

The 1,496-tonne boats will displace almost twice as much water as the current craft, which were launched more than 30 years ago.

John Bence, chairman of the Harbour Advisory Group, cited concerns about the new ferries and fears that they might accelerate the erosion of the salt marsh. He demanded an assurance that the commissioners would monitor the impact of the vessels over the next three years. The chairman, Peter Griffiths, said: "We're planning to do far more than some of your members are giving us credit for. Your group should be satisfied that we're taking the whole thing seriously and will continue to do what's necessary."

Fellow commissioner John Clarke said the salt marsh was already disappearing at a "horrendous" rate and warned that drastic action was needed.

Two of the three new ferries were originally due to arrive either this month or next but are now unlikely to appear until August. They will undergo sea trials, expected to take several weeks, before entering service in the autumn.

Kerry Jackson, Wightlink's marketing manager, said: "We will be unable to introduce the new ships into service until after the main summer period."