Cowes Floating Bridge: Troubled ferry is unfixable - report

The £3.2m Floating Bridge 6 has been beset with problems since it was introduced in May 2017

The Isle of Wight's troubled floating bridge should be replaced, a council committee has recommended.

A review of Floating Bridge 6 (FB6) used computer modelling to analyse the problems it faces crossing the River Medina between Cowes and East Cowes.

The council's corporate scrutiny committee heard any replacement vessel would have to be "radically redesigned".

It agreed the authority should "get on with" replacing the £3.2m chain ferry.

Consultants 3S reviewed the design and operation of the vessel, which has been plagued with issues since since being brought into service in 2017.

The average time it took FB6 to cross the river was three minutes and 30 seconds, a "snail's pace" compared to the two-minute journeys made by previous vessel FB5, 3S said.

However, it said bringing back FB5 was not the answer, as it would not comply with the chain depth now required by the Cowes Harbour Master.

The review also found the FB6 could not operate without the use of a push boat in strong tides. Hiring a barge has cost the council £658,000 over three years.

The consultants said a floating bridge crossing was the most logical solution, compared to a tunnel or bridge, however there was no fix for the vessel that would be worth spending money on.

It said an electric vessel would have the advantages of being lighter, have quicker crossing times, and would cut carbon emissions.

The scrutiny committee agreed the only feasible option was to now get a new floating bridge and to "get on with" the process of procuring one.

'Quite embarrassing'

Vice chairman of the council, Karl Love, said the report showed FB6 would "never be fit for purpose", although the process of replacing it could take two years.

He said: "We'll always need a push boat, we'll always have problems with the chains, and its oozing money, so the only alternative is to replace it.

"This evidence really does set us in a really good place to overcome some of the really quite embarrassing things that happened in its early commissioning."

Alternatives and next steps are due to be considered by the scrutiny committee and cabinet next month.

The vessel has faced a number of issues - last summer a software problem meant it was out of service for a month, costing the council £112,000 in repairs and lost revenue during the summer tourist season.

Crossings are also due to be paused for a week while its annual refit takes place from 4 March. A launch for foot passengers and cyclists will run but drivers face a 12-mile detour via Newport.

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