The push boat service was implemented by the authority in response to a problem with the chain depth of Floating Bridge 6. It serves as a ‘lifeboat,’ allowing the service to continue operating during fast-moving ebb tides by maintaining clearance over the chains rather than stopping the crossings.
Since 2019, the Cowes Harbour Commission has been awarded two contracts to use the barge MV Seaclear. MV Seaclear also operated in 2018, without a contract but through negotiations between the parties, as a short-term measure, according to the council at the time.
The first contract ran from 30 June 2019 to 30 April 2020 and cost the authority £138,365. The second will take place between the 16th of August 2020 and the 30th of September 2022 and will cost £252,000. The council has now put out to tender a third contract for the same service, with an application deadline of August 17th.
The three-year contract will keep the push boat in service between October 1st, 2022 and September 30th, 2025, for a cost of £658,160. Should the council so desire, the contract can be extended for another two years until 2027 — but only in six-month increments.
The contract requires that those who apply have a suitable vessel that does not require any modifications to FB6.
The three contracts will cost the council £1,049,525 in total. According to the prices on the council’s Floating Bridge website, it would take 699,683 foot passenger return journeys or 437,302 cars to make up for that money.
The Isle of Wight Council stated that further comment could not be made while discussions with all stakeholders involved in the operational delivery of the Floating Bridge service were ongoing.
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