The linkspan repair project at Gourock Ferry Terminal will be completed by mid-February 2021.

The revised project timetable has been announced by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), which owns Gourock Ferry Terminal and is leading the £2M project to repair the linkspan structure.

The new linkspan was scheduled to be installed in November and the project was due to be completed by the end of 2020.  However, after the old linkspan was removed, additional surveys revealed issues with the existing berth structure which were not evident until the old linkspan structure was lifted out.

CMAL has commissioned the project contractor, George Leslie Ltd, to carry out the additional essential repairs to the inner dolphin structure.

Lara 1, a large, highly manoeuvrable offshore crane barge, is booked to be on site at Gourock week commencing 18 January 2021 to lift the new linkspan into place.  The installation and commissioning works following this mean the linkspan should be available to hand back to CalMac on 16 February.  Revised dates are subject to weather conditions.

Paul Colenso, senior civil engineer at CMAL, said:

“This project delay is very frustrating, but it has been caused by an issue that was not evident until the point of removing the old linkspan.  This can happen with marine engineering projects, when positioning of harbour structures and water levels mean it is not possible to see everything.

“Weather in Scotland can be highly changeable and unpredictable, especially around coasts and in winter months.  Hopefully, we will get the conditions we need for the Lara 1 barge to reach Gourock and to complete the works in the planned timescale.”

When complete, Gourock will be available as an alternative mainland port for vehicle services.

CMAL is progressing options for the redevelopment of Gourock Ferry Terminal as part of an overall project to deliver a modern, reliable and resilient lifeline passenger ferry service between Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan.


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