Torpoint Ferry’s third boat due back, but there’s a catch first

Anyone queuing for the Torpoint Ferry lately will have been counting boats. There have been two on the water instead of three, and the question has been when that changes.

Now there’s an answer. Although it comes with one more short wait built in.

Tamar Crossings has published a detailed update on getting the crossing between Torpoint and Plymouth back to full strength. It says it had hoped to share news sooner but needed to assess what the recent storms had done to the fleet first.

Where things stand now

Because of planned maintenance, the crossing is running a two-ferry service with departures every 15 minutes.

The vessel that has been out of action is Plym II. Tamar Crossings says its planned works are nearly complete. But before it carries any passengers or vehicles again, it still has to pass inspections, checks and sea trials.

Those sea trials are planned for this Thursday and Friday (29 and 30 October). If they go well, Plym II is expected back in service on Tuesday 3 November.

What the storm did

The rough weather has made the past couple of days harder.

On Monday (26 October) a chain-related issue was found on Tamar II. It was taken out of service as a precaution, with winds of more than 50mph forecast that could add load to the ferry chains and the gantry infrastructure.

Lynher II was also withdrawn for safety reasons overnight, between about midnight and 2am this morning (Tuesday 27 October). The two-ferry service was back running at around 6.30am.

Tamar Crossings was clear about where it stands on this, saying “we will never operate vessels in conditions considered unsafe.”

The catch for Tamar II

Engineers say Tamar II can keep running safely for now. But it needs a permanent repair.

So just as Plym II returns, Tamar II is expected to come out. It is due to be withdrawn from 3 to 6 November for the work, which means the crossing stays on two ferries for those few days.

When three ferries are expected back

If that repair is finished on time and conditions are normal, a full three-ferry service is expected from Friday 6 November.

Tamar Crossings says it will give updates at key milestones and post any changes to the service on its status updates page. Anyone with questions is pointed to its FAQs or its contact team.