The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has approved revised proposals for lashing vehicles on Council ferries sailing between Gutcher and Belmont ferry terminals.
These revised provisions will be implemented immediately and will improve vehicle capacity issues on this route.
Under the new arrangements, discretion has been restored to the Master of the vessel whether to lash down vehicles weighing less than 10 tonnes on sailings between Gutcher and Belmont, when certain conditions are met.
Where the wind strength is greater than Force Five, larger vehicles will continue to be lashed down. Certain vehicles will also always be secured, regardless of wind and tidal conditions, including vehicles carrying dangerous goods, ready-mix cement trucks, livestock freight trucks, road tankers and other vehicles with an inherent risk of tipping.
All freight vehicles will be lashed regardless of wind strength when the wind direction is from an easterly direction down around to southerly with the flood tide running.
Larger vehicles will be lashed for the first morning run in darkness, to order to evaluate wind and tidal conditions.
The Master will notify the deck crew as and when this discretion may be applied, and the expected duration.
The mandatory requirement to lash all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on this route was introduced at the end of October 2024. Staff in the Council’s Ferries Service recently submitted revised proposals based on their experience of conditions on the route.