Work ongoing to maintain necessary harbour depths for Manx ferry
Work is ongoing to keep the depths of Douglas Harbour "at an acceptable level" to allow ferry operations "to carry on as needed", the infrastructure minister has said.On 1 March the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's Manxman vessel got stuck on a mud bank in the harbour, which let to an almost two-hour delay for passengers. Following the incident the ferry firm said high atmospheric pressure meant the tides had been lower than expected, and the vessel became stuck while manoeuvring.Michelle Haywood MHK told Tynwald members a recent spell of maintenance dredging had been completed but a further programme would follow on from that.
Haywood said a regular programme of works had been successful "by and large" in other key areas the harbour but admitted previous maintenance dredging on the section the ferry has been grounded on had "not been effective".She also confirmed a "successful capital dredge", which sometimes includes the removal of rock layers, had not been carried out in 20 years due to "significant" costs and the risk of destabilising the piers.
'Never been achieved'
Jason Moorhouse MHK had asked when the port of Douglas was last dredged, and whether it met the requirements of the Services Agreement (SSA).The 25-year SSA, drawn up in 2020 and based upon previous linkspan user agreements, includes conditions on fares, routes and the frequency of sailings.In the document the department agreed to maintain a berth of 16ft (5m) and 21ft (6.5m) in depth on the two berths next to the linkspans.Questioning why specified depths had been included in the Sea Services Agreement (SSA), she said the depths specified "have never been achieved in Douglas Harbour in the entire records we have".The Department of Infrastructure was "unsure where those depths were written in the SSA, or if they were written by anyone who had any knowledge about the seabed profile", she said.However, she did not confirm the current depths in the harbour.
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