Essential maintenance is taking place at the Wightlink Port over the next week meaning that the car ferries to Fishbourne have been relocated to the international port. The works will include replacing all of the fenders and resurfacing a large majority of the site.
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00:00Hello, my name is Dean Murphy, Head of Port Operations for WyeLink Ferries.
00:04Hi Dean, how are you doing? Very well, thank you.
00:06So what pushed you to undertake this essential maintenance at the WyeLink port at this time?
00:11Yeah, WyeLink continued to invest in our ports and our vessels and during the refit period of
00:17the winter months, we've utilised this period to ensure and continue our punctuality and reliability
00:23and improve the systems within the port, continuing the relationship with our good
00:30friends at the PIP and running from the ports of international port during this period.
00:35Okay, and has there been any big priority right now as the Head of Port Operations
00:40during this maintenance period? Yeah, we've used the time frame to do
00:44multiple jobs on the port, but one of the largest investment periods is using the time to redo the
00:51fenders to future-proof the port for the future and maintaining that with good neighbours and
00:56making sure that the operation is as seamless and as quiet as possible.
01:01So what is the scope of the work being done and why do you think it's important for long-term
01:06functionality of the port? Okay, so at the current time, we're
01:10looking at doing our works on our ramp and our links van, which is the fenders, so the area in
01:16which the vessels dock into the links van. We're looking to do the hydraulic ramps, replacing them
01:20on a continued rotation. As well as that, we're looking, we don't get much time to do works within
01:27the port as we run 24-7, so we've used that to do some works with regards to marshalling areas,
01:34parts into the main terminal building and the ramp that goes to the upper deck, we're doing
01:38some works on that because that's in use almost all the time.
01:41It's very important to replace them? Absolutely, it's always good to maintain,
01:44to make sure you've got the safest operation and prolong and make sure that you're future-proofing
01:49the port and the route, yeah. You know, a number of people have commented
01:53saying that the relocation of the car ferry port could improve the traffic near Gunn Wharf.
01:57Would a permanent relocation of car ferries ever be considered?
02:01It's something that has been discussed in the past, however, with the investment we've made
02:07to the area over the past five to six years, with the two-tier loading, we're very happy,
02:13very comfortable at this location. So were there any challenges in planning
02:18this project, particularly with the relocation of the services?
02:22Yeah, one of the biggest parts of the project was the scheduling and changing the timetable
02:28due to the fact that it's a longer crossing, so therefore we've had to change all our scheduling,
02:33move customers, inform our customers, change all our rosters for our staff and so forth,
02:39so the ergonomics of moving out there has been the biggest challenge.
02:41So were there any measures taken for the temporary relocation?
02:45Yeah, so we've made sure that we've spoken and worked with our Ports of International Port
02:51colleagues and ensuring that we've got the appropriate time frame to do that. All our
02:56colleagues have worked with us to ensure that we've got a robust service and we're ready for
03:02this change. So any feedback that you have received
03:04from the community and stakeholders about this project?
03:08We haven't received any feedback at this moment in time, we normally receive that after,
03:12but we're hoping the feedback will be taken as positive as we're trying to improve
03:16and maintain the best safe and reliable service we can for the city and for the route.
03:21True. And any adjustments did you make to ensure a seamless experience for the customers during
03:27this transition? Yeah, so what we've tried to do,
03:31we've sent out multiple communications with regards to all customers that have been impacted
03:35and their bookings have been changed via text message, emails, and we've ensured that the
03:42International Port, we've got a lot of staff around to ensure that customers can ask questions
03:48because it is a change for them. It's a change of port, but we're making sure that the journey and
03:53the change is as seamless as possible for them. How will the improvements benefit the community
03:59and the ferry users and overall operations in the future?
04:02Okay, so the changes we're making today will ensure that our punctuality and reliability
04:07is as strong and improving all the time by making sure that we protect and maintain our assets,
04:13which will provide a good and better service. Again, at the same time, were there any
04:17environmental considerations taken into account during the planning and execution of maintenance?
04:22Yeah, we always have to abide by the MMO licenses and we've ensured and maintained that we've
04:30conducted all our certification to enable that from a marine and from an environmental perspective
04:34that the project's been done in a very safe and environmentally friendly way.
04:39And one last thing I wanted to know from you, how does this project align with Whitelink's
04:44long-term plans for modernization and sustainability? I think this is a next step on
04:50sustainability. The fenders that are going in now, the old fenders that we had were for the older
04:56ships with regards to the same class. All works and all plans we do are based on the assumption
05:02of moving forward with more sustainable vessels, fleet and improving every aspect of the operations.