We would like to thank everyone using the ferry service this morning for their patience while emergency repairs are carried out on the Plym. The fault with the bearings in a pulley that guides the chain through the ferry on the Torpoint side of the ferry was discovered at 5 am this morning. While we had hoped to be able to keep Plym in service during this morning's rush hour by reducing her speed, the extent of the bearing collapse forced us to withdraw the ferry from service to prevent a complete catastrophic failure and the consequent risk of having a ferry stranded mid-river.
To change the pulley, slack has to be created in the chain so that it can be lifted aside to gain access to the pulley, and this is only possible at particular states of the tides. We are expecting the tide to be at the right height within the next 45 mins and the team will immediately begin work on replacing the pulley. This will take approximately two hours to complete, with the ferry expected back in service by lunchtime.
We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused for people travelling this morning. Unfortunately, while the ferry crews have worked extremely hard to keep the two ferries working and maintained during the past months, it is not possible to predict when a bearing will fail.