Department of Marine & Ports Ferry Update
[Updated] This afternoon Government provided a general update on the Ferry suspension, saying “Marine and Ports technical and operational staff are working collectively to accelerate the repair schedule to ensure that the ferries are returned to service as soon as possible.”
They confirmed the Pink and Blue ferry routes are running, and did not provide any specifics on full ferry service saying they will “actively endeavor to keep the public fully abreast of further developments, particularly when all ferry commuter service resumes.”
Following Union action on Sept 28th, ferry workers went on strike over what Bernews understands to be displeasure and concern with various maintenance and safety issues. It is the second strike in two weeks by public transportation workers, following the strike by bus drivers immediately after Hurricane Igor.
The full statement follows below:
Today the Department of Marine and Ports provided the following regarding the current ferry dispute, which has seen ferry workers withdrawing service to the public.
The Director of Marine and Ports, Francis Richardson took the opportunity today to thank the public for their continued patience during this public inconvenience.
And he once again offered apologies to those members of the public who have been adversely affected by the suspension of ferry service, and advised that the Department is working “around the clock” to ensure that full service resumes on Monday, October 4.
Meanwhile Mr. Richardson confirmed today that following a union meeting this past Tuesday to address outstanding ferry maintenance issues, workers decided to down tools, as they believed their grievances were not being adequately addressed.
However, according to Mr. Richardson, over the course of the past two days “substantial progress has been made with regard to the outstanding maintenance issues and discussions with the Union have progressed well”.
Marine and Ports technical and operational staff are working collectively to accelerate the repair schedule to ensure that the ferries are returned to service as soon as possible.
As a reminder, as of Wednesday afternoon, the Paget/Warwick ferry service resumed service to the public, and just this morning the Blue Route returned to normal operations. The Blue Route includes commuter service to Cavello Bay, Watford Bridge and Dockyard.
Finally, Mr. Richardson said he can appreciate the public’s “level of frustration” at the lack of information regarding the current situation. And he said that the Department would actively endeavor to keep the public fully abreast of further developments, particularly when all ferry commuter service resumes.
Update 6:07pm: The Department of Marine and Ports advised that tomorrow, (Saturday) ferry service on the Blue Route will be suspended, saying “The decision was made in an effort to expedite repair work which was started earlier this week on the ferries.” However the Department advised that the service will be running on Monday as usual.
The Blue Route operates between Dockyard and Hamilton, servicing Cavello Bay, Watford Bridge and Dockyard.
