Lough ferry is towed away for refurb work

Lough ferry is towed away for refurb work

2 December 2015

THE newest vessel which operates the Strangford Lough ferry crossing was towed to Liverpool last week for major refurbishment.

Work on the £370,000 scheme to refurbish the MV Portaferry II is being carried out at the Cammel Laird shipyard on Merseyside and is expected to be completed before Christmas.

The MV Portaferry II — which came into service in 2001 — left Strangford Lough for Liverpool at 5am last Thursday under its own power, but the vessel’s journey across the Irish Sea was accompanied by a tug for safety reasons.

The refurbishment work includes repairs to the hull and ramps and shot blasting and re-painting the entire vessel. This work requires the vessel to be dry-docked which is the first time this has happened since it since arrived in Strangford 14 years ago.

While the DRD said the work is scheduled to be completed before Christmas, the MVPortaferry II’s return to Strangford will be dependent on suitable weather conditions for the journey.

During refurbishment work, the MV Strangford, which is due to be replaced by a new £6m ferry next summer, will provide the crossing, but a 7.5 tonne weight restriction is in operation.

Construction of the new ferry is currently well underway also at the  Cammell Laird shipyard. 

The new vessel is due to be delivered in August next year and and will go into service as soon as all necessary sea trials and training have been completed. It has the capacity to carry 28 cars and 260 passengers and will share the ferry crossing between Strangford and Portaferry with the MV Portaferry II.

The DRD says the new vessel will provide a more reliable and efficient ferry service, replacing the MV Strangford which is approaching the end of its “economically operational life.”

Ahead of its arrival, the DRD is planning to invest £650,000 to upgrade the underwater section of the slipway in Strangford village used by vehicles boarding the ferry crossing to Portaferry.

The money will also be used to upgrade off-shore moorings to accommodate the new multi-million pound vessel ahead of its arrival next summer.

The improvement at the slipway are scheduled to take around six weeks to complete, with work to provide new moorings due to start early in the New Year. 

The DRD says while there may be some temporary reduction to the ferry service during construction work, every effort will be made to minimise disruption to residents, harbour users and ferry passengers.