A SCOTS ferry is at the centre of new safety fears after it was withdrawn from service after "serious deficiencies" were found for the second time in three months.
Clydelink suspended the Kilcreggan to Gourock service on Wednesday afternoon for ‘technical reasons’, and the 12-minute crossing on the Island Princess was replaced by a 50-mile trip on a minibus since then.
Graham Barr, vice chairman of Cove and Kilcreggan Community Council described the current ferry contract as "absolutely diabolical" saying the service appeared the ferry was more off than on in the past two months.
"It's a terrible mess. It's not reliable at all. The people are fed up," he said.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said a "prohibition notice" was issued after an inspection after discovering issues on the vessel.
It comes just three months after the six-days a week service was withdrawn after inspectors found 30 separate defects.
The problems included a fire pump not working, a missing alarm and other issues with lifejackets and fire extinguishers.
Documents also show there was no evidence of basic safety training for a crewman and concerns about a crew member with "inadequate spoken English". Operators Clydelink, which also runs the Renfrew Ferry, said at the time that it was "a technical matter".
In July there were no sailings for ten days after a breakdown.
And on August 6, it emerged that in the previous three weeks a catalogue of issues with the vessel led to sailings being cancelled for a total of 10 days.
The MCA said on the latest problems: “As part of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s ongoing survey and inspection regime, the Clydelink-operated vessel Island Princess was re-inspected by surveyors from the Glasgow Marine Office on Wednesday September 13.
“At this time the a number of serious deficiencies were noted on board the vessel.
“As a result of this inspection, the vessel was issued with a prohibition notice and withdrawn from service by the operator.”
After the June issues the MCA said they found it to be in "a poor state of repair with several serious defects noted".
On September 2 it is understood the ferry was reduced to carrying 12 passengers from the contracted maximum of 65.
Five years ago an MCA inspection found a total of 14 faults on the Island Princess, each of which had to be fixed before the ferry could sail again.
One user said nobody seemed to know if the ferry would be running on Monday morning leaving commuters in the dark.
Clydelink, which operates the service on behalf of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) for an initial period of 15 months from April 3 at a cost of £319,538 – an annual cost of £247,999, representing an annual increase to the taxpayer of £87,807.
There are 12 return services a day between Gourock and Kilcreggan from Monday to Saturday.
Mr Barr added: "For people who go to college or work here who travel up to Glasgow, we need our ferry. People have their lives worked out around this ferry. It is a vital link in this area."
A Clydelink spokesman said: The service will not be operating until the vessel has been reinspected by the MCA. We requested the survey formally on Thursday and await a response in respect of the survey timing.
“Clydelink has sought advice in respect of the recent notice issued by the MCA and is considering its options in respect of appealing the notice.”
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