§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's policy on the granting of extensions to the licences of any of the Woolwich ferry vessels which are not being regularly maintained.
§ Mr. RidleyThe three vessels operating the ferry service at Woolwich are surveyed at 12-monthly intervals by marine surveyors in my Department: if satisfactory, they are issued with passenger certificates, valid for 12 months. When there are good reasons why the ferries cannot be taken out of service for this survey these certificates may be extended for a short period, but only if it is found safe to do so following an inspection by one of my Department's surveyors.
§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has as to maintenance work currently being carried out on each of the three vessels operating the Woolwich ferry to ensure that his Department's safety standards are being met.
§ Mr. RidleyOne of the ferry boats, the John Burns, is still undergoing a major refit which should have been completed by the GLC in October 1985. The Ernest Bevin and the James Newman receive a visual inspection twice a day by the marine superintendent of the London borough of Greenwich. Following an inspection by the Department's marine surveyor, both received three-month extensions of their passenger licences on 8 May.