Of course they never mention that the Australian-built Freshwater Manly
ferries had control system problems that took over twenty years to fully
resolve. There were some spectacular groundings out of that one. Memories
are short, or selective, in politics. Meanwhile, the travelling public is
voting with its feet and overwhelmingly uses the Emeralds. After all, if
you have a choice between a faster, more frequent public transport service
and slower, less frequent one, which one do you choose? It's not rocket
science.
Tony P
On Monday, 20 March 2023 at 12:20:50 UTC+11 Greg Sutherland wrote:
>
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-manly-ferry-suffers-another-steering-failure-on-sydney-harbour-20230320-p5ctjb.html
>
> One of the new Manly ferries has suffered another steering failure on
> Sydney Harbour, forcing the operator to pull the troubled vessel from
> service amid ongoing concerns about defects plaguing the three catamarans
> purchased to replace larger Freshwater ferries.
>
> The failure of the Fairlight’s steering occurred at about 7.30pm on Sunday
> evening while the ferry was sailing from Circular Quay to Manly, and
> resulted in it swerving to port, according to multiple sources. The ferry
> was carrying about 150 passengers.
>
> Following the incident, the Chinese-built catamaran ferry was removed from
> regular passenger service and is now docked at the Balmain shipyard.
> [image: The Fairlight ferry has suffered another steering failure.]
>
> The Fairlight ferry has suffered another steering failure.Credit:Edwina
> Pickles
>
> The latest incident takes the number of steering failures
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/high-number-of-steering-failures-involving-new-manly-ferries-revealed-20221202-p5c35r.html
> involving the Fairlight to nine since the government-owned vessel entered
> service in late 2021. It has sparked calls for transport authorities to
> remove all three of the second-generation Emerald-class ferries from
> service.
>
> The Fairlight last suffered a steering failure
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-manly-ferry-suffers-another-steering-failure-near-sydney-heads-20221120-p5bzop.html
> while carrying passengers near the entrance to Sydney Harbour in November,
> less than two months after a similar incident
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/manly-ferries-removed-from-service-after-steering-failure-near-cruise-ship-20220926-p5bl6m.html
> forced ferry operator Transdev to urgently pull the catamaran and two
> sister vessels from service.
> Related Article
> [image: The Fairlight ferry was pulled from service two weeks ago after
> suffering another steering failure.]
>
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/high-number-of-steering-failures-involving-new-manly-ferries-revealed-20221202-p5c35r.html
> Public transport
> https://www.smh.com.au/topic/sydney-public-transport-62q
> High number of steering failures involving new Manly ferries revealed
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/high-number-of-steering-failures-involving-new-manly-ferries-revealed-20221202-p5c35r.html
>
> Labor transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said the steering failures involving
> the Fairlight were a serious risk to passenger safety.
>
> “It is only thanks to good luck that a passenger or crew member on one of
> these ferries has not been seriously injured, or worse,” she said. “What is
> it going to take before action is taken?”
>
> The three new Manly ferries have been plagued with defects and steering
> failures since they entered service on the busy route in late 2021. The
> Fairlight’s sister vessel, the Clontarf, suffered an engine failure
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-manly-ferry-suffers-catastrophic-engine-failure-on-sydney-harbour-20230207-p5cikt.html
> during regular safety drills last month, requiring the engine to later be
> replaced.
> Advertisement
>
> The problems have reinforced concerns the new ferries cannot handle
> conditions on the Manly-Circular Quay route nearly as well as the larger
> Freshwater vessels
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/end-of-an-era-last-sailing-set-for-manly-ferry-20211007-p58y0b.html
> they are meant to replace. The government plans to retire two of the four
> Freshwater ferries this year.
> Related Article
> [image: The Clontarf is wet docked at the Balmain shipyards after
> suffering a catastrophic engine failure.]
>
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-manly-ferry-suffers-catastrophic-engine-failure-on-sydney-harbour-20230207-p5cikt.html
> Public transport
> https://www.smh.com.au/topic/sydney-public-transport-62q
> ‘There was an almighty noise’: New Manly ferry suffers catastrophic engine
> failure
> https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/new-manly-ferry-suffers-catastrophic-engine-failure-on-sydney-harbour-20230207-p5cikt.html
>
> Action for Public Transport spokesman Graeme Taylor said all three of the
> new Manly ferries should be pulled from service until the cause of the
> latest steering failure was known, and the problem fixed.
>
> Transport for NSW has been approached for comment.
>
> The Maritime Union of Australia, which represents deck-hands on ferries,
> said the transport agency needed to work urgently with Transdev to fix the
> problems plaguing the new Manly ferries.
>
> “They created this mess – they need to now fix it,” the union’s deputy
> branch secretary Paul Garrett said. “It is another reason why ferries
> should be built in Australia and why the Freshwater ferries should be put
> back on the run.”
> Transport Minister David Elliott, who is quitting politics after the state
> election on Saturday, has also been approached for comment
>
>
>