Ferry heading to slip yards for routine maintenance
The Raymond Island Ferry will be slipped for most of October as it undergoes routine maintenance. The maintenance program occurs every two years and it is scheduled to remove the ferry from service from Monday 6 October 2014 to Friday 24 October. The last ferry service departing Raymond Island before the outage will be at 11.00 pm on Sunday 5 October.
East Gippsland Shire’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Chris Waites, said a range of works will be completed while the ferry is in the slip yard. “The ferry’s hull will be cleaned and anti-fouled. All deck areas will be sand-blasted and re-painted, and the paintwork of the entire vessel will be cleaned and polished. We will also be installing a new main drive motor, a new battery and inverter power system and a new operator deadman safety switch. Other minor maintenance and repair work will also be undertaken at this time,” Mr Waites said.
During the period the ferry is out of operation, the Shire will provide alternative access services, including a water taxi between Raymond Island and Paynesville, a commuter bus on Raymond Island, car parking in Paynesville and a barge for commercial and emergency traffic.
“Due to the upgrade works along The Esplanade, some of the temporary car park area that has been used in the past will not be available. However, additional parking is available in the new Fleischer Street extension. Raymond Island residents are encouraged to use these parking areas in addition to the usual temporary car park,” Mr Waites said.
Raymond Island residents are reminded that they will need to ensure that they have sufficient essential supplies such as gas, fuel and medicines to cover the outage period.
The ferry service is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and East Gippsland Shire Council is
supporting the Raymond Island History Group in preparation of the celebration. The Raymond Island History Group is currently preparing events for the Melbourne Cup weekend from Friday, October 31 to Monday, November 3. The celebration events will include an historical display, anniversary ball, a ‘blessing of the ferry’ service and a ‘roll call’ of past and current ferry operators.
