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29.11.07 Solar Sailor has successful AGM
Anthony Stavrinos | The Sun-Herald
July 29, 2007
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| Sunny future? .... an artist's impression of two proposed Sydney ferries. Hybrid-powered vessels are said to halve the environmental impact of noise, vibrations and fumes. |
SYDNEY Ferries is looking at solar-powered vessels in the upgrade of its ageing fleet.
Dr Robert Dane, chief executive of Chatswood-based Solar Sailor, said he had met with Sydney Ferries CEO Geoff Smith and successfully trialled a vessel on the Parramatta River route.
Solar Sailor, which is chaired by former prime minister Bob Hawke, said its hybrid powered vessels can almost halve the environmental impact of noise, vibrations and fumes.
Preliminary scheduling work had begun within Sydney Ferries using a hybrid power vessel designed by Solar Sailor, but the March Sydney ferry accident, which resulted in four deaths, had put that on hold, Mr Dane said.
One of the vessels, the Solar Coast Cat, was long, sleek, had a 200-250 capacity and was capable of servicing the inner harbour routes. The Double Ender, a 1000-capacity hybrid electric vessel, would be ideal for the Manly-Circular Quay run, he said.
The proposal comes as Bret Walker, SC, continues his inquiry into how to renew the service, which has faced performance and morale problems.
The cancellation rate of services has nearly doubled in just three years, and delays have jumped by almost 50per cent over the same period, documents obtained by The Sun-Herald reveal.
Cancelled services rose from 986 in 2002-03 to 1923 in 2005-06, and delays rose from 1937 in 2004-05 to 2790 in 2005-06.
The figures come from a Sydney Ferries submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal and in documents obtained through Freedom of Information by the NSW Opposition.
The Sun-Herald has also learned that:
Due to a shortage of vessels, Sydney Ferries has had to charter private vessels with private crews, who have not been subject to the same drug and alcohol tests as Sydney Ferries employees.
Timetables were not taking into account the extra time required for services affected by changed routes and speed limitations.
Sydney Ferries said it was reviewing all timetables.
A spokesman said private charter vessels had been used since the service became publicly owned in 1954, and their crews complied with the same regulations as official crews.
But NSW secretary of the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, Andrew Williamson, disagreed. Contracted crews "are yet to be drug and alcohol tested", he said.
