Manly Ferry: Skipper made call to pull Emerald class ferries from route due to passenger comfort
Despite officials blaming a lack of testing in large swell for the new ferries being pulled from service on Sunday – with swells less than 2.5m – the Manly Daily can reveal who really made the call.
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The new Emerald class ferries were pulled from the Manly route in swells of less than 2.5m on Sunday because an experienced skipper felt the ride was too uncomfortable for passengers, it has emerged.
Marty McEvilly, an official from the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU), confirmed that the skipper made the call because “there was a pretty significant concern for passenger comfort”.
“I was told it was like landing on concrete when it was coming down on top of the swell,” he said.
A spokesman for the ferry operator Transdev had previously said the Emerald ferries were pulled and replaced by buses, due to the fact the Indonesian-built boats had not yet been tested in swells of 2.5m. It did not mention passenger comfort.
The larger Freshwater class ferries – which were running in tandem with the new ferries on Sunday – were able to operate as normal. The Manly Fast Ferry was also still in service.
Transdev did not directly respond to the claim it was the skipper that made the call to stop the Emerald class run because of concerns around passenger comfort.
Instead it said the Emerald class ferries were cancelled “following operational observations and modelling of predicted swell levels”.
Another source, a former skipper that is close to the crew, explained what happened on Sunday in more detail.
He said the skipper of the Fairlight, after doing a return run at around 1pm, was concerned for passenger comfort in the 2.2m to 2.5m swell.
“The first skipper on the Fairlight did the trip to Manly and back and said he was taking it off the run because it was too dangerous,” he said.
The source said a second skipper took out a first generation Emerald class ferry to Manly but decided to return to Circular Quay without passengers.
“He must have realised it was a pretty hairy situation because when he got to Manly he decided he would return empty, with no passengers,” the source said.
“It’s not as if the boats can’t withstand swells like that. The boats aren’t going to sink. It is more about the comfort of the passengers.
“There would be concerns that the elderly and children could get thrown around.”
The Manly Daily has not spoken to either of the skippers directly, as they are not allowed to speak to the media.
Mr McEvilly said the union was concerned that the Emerald class was not “fit for purpose” for the Manly run.
“They are not designed to handle the swells or the passenger numbers when we get back to normal,” he said.
“We are going to see a whole lot of runs cancelled and replaced with buses in situations where the Freshwaters are more than capable of running.”
A spokesman for Transdev said the “safety and comfort of our customers is Transdev’s number one priority”.
“The Emerald Gen 2 vessels are purpose built to operate the Manly route and have been designed to operate in swells of up to 4.5 metres.
“Until the vessels can be trialled in various sea conditions for further risk assessments, a restriction on operations in swells above 2.5 metres is in place.”
It said an initial risk assessment was conducted on Monday and Transdev hopes to use the expected increase of swell later over coming days to conduct sea trials with our experienced trials crew and health and safety representatives.
Transdev has said all three new Emerald class vessels will be running on the Manly route before the end of the year.
They will replace the iconic Freshwater class ferries in the week.
Two larger ferries will operate in tandem with the Emerald class at the weekends.
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