ONE of the Torpoint Ferries will be returning to the River Tamar after refit this week – but it won’t be able to get back to work potentially until at least July.

The Lynher II has been in the dry dock at Falmouth having its five yearly overhaul. Work has included repainting the hull, upgrades to the IT and CCTV systems, an overhaul of the prows, and major work in the engine room. And while the maintenance has very gone well considering the constrained circumstances brought by the pandemic, a major hiccup has come to light, says Tamar Crossings, who operate the service.

While the vessel has been away, an inspection of the gantries (the structure that houses the chain pulleys, located on either side of the river) has shown some unexpected wear on some of the pulleys.

’Following consultation with the specialist contractor, it was concluded that the pulleys have to be replaced to ensure that the ferry can be safely operated when it returns, and that the ongoing resilience of the service in the future is achieved,’ said a spokesperson.

’Unfortunately the pulleys were made specifically to fit the gantries at Torpoint and Devonport so the option of “off the shelf” replacements is not available. The original sheaves were designed decades ago for use with chains and not cables, and our engineers have had to work with specialists to produce new designs which are fit for purpose for the current installation. Producing these manufacturing drawings has been very challenging - we would like to thank our supplier Eriks for helping us to achieve this in such a short space of time.

’The impact of the coronavirus pandemic means that most engineering fabrication companies in the UK have either temporarily shut down or have significantly reduced the range of services they can offer.  After an extensive investigation of potential manufacturers in other parts of the world we have identified a manufacturer in the Czech Republic who has the very specific expertise needed to produce the pulleys, and is still operating.

’While the company is now making our new pulleys, the complexity of the manufacture and the hardening requirements means it is unlikely that they will be available until July.

’We recognise that this will mean a further extension to the current two-ferry service, but we have no other option than to replace the damaged pulleys.  Carrying out this work now while traffic volumes are low because of the COVID -19 restrictions on travel will significantly help reduce the impact on service users.’