Transport Minister Ewart Brown yesterday said he believed Bermuda was locked into a deal to purchase two more fast ferries - regardless of which party won the imminent General Election.

He replied, albeit very briefly, to comments made in The Royal Gazette yesterday from United Bermuda Party (UBP) candidates Patricia Gordon-Pamplin and Mark Pettingill stating that the Opposition would cancel any new ferry deal, if possible.

They claimed Government's budget priorities were all wrong and said the fact that Dr. Brown had very recently ordered two more fast catamaran ferries, at a cost of $2.5 million each, was proof.

Both Mr. Pettingill and Ms Gordon-Pamplin said if the UBP won the upcoming election it would look at re-negotiating the deal in order to put that cash into housing, crime, education and seniors.

But asked if the contract was re-negotiable, Dr. Brown said yesterday: "As far as we are concerned, it's not."

And asked if that meant it was set in stone, he only replied: "Yes."

The Minister said he he had nothing else to say to the comments made by the UBP.

Dr. Brown announced at the end of last month that he had ordered the two additional ferries from North West Bay Ships of Tasmania, Australia.

He said they were to arrive by next April, and, although shorter than the current two fast ferries, they would carry more than 200 passengers in a new design to reduce wake problems at speeds up to a third faster.

The Minister said the order had been placed because of the success of the first two fast ferries, Serenity and Resolute, which he said had increased passenger load by 162 percent on the Rockaway to Hamilton route since starting their first run last spring.

But last night Leader of the Opposition Grant Gibbons questioned why Government had obligated itself to such a big contract so close to the election.

"The differentiation between us and the Progressive Labour Party is we feel there are other and more pressing priorities than ordering more ferries," said Dr. Gibbons.

"These priorities are housing, health care for seniors and addressing this issue of crime and some of the problems we are having with drugs in the community.

"It's very difficult to know in Opposition where we are on that ferry contract."

Asked whether the UBP would look to duck out of the contract if it won the election, Dr. Gibbons added: "It's a little difficult to comment in abstraction.

"I don't think one wants to put a Government in a position of reneging on anything, but I do think that it's unfortunate that the contract would have been made so close to an election, where we could be looking at a different Government in the next couple of weeks, and I think from our perspective it was inappropriate to be signing contracts."

And he said once the writ is filed, announcing an imminent election, usually the Government takes a more caretaking role, but that had not been done in this case.

On Monday, at a press conference, Mr. Pettingill and Ms Gordon-Pamplin said the public purse needed to be "better prioritised" when they laid out the UBP's plans to tackle crime.

Mr. Pettingill said: "The ferries are the big issue. Education is crying out for that money, crime is crying out for that money, housing is crying out for that money, and seniors are crying out for that money. But it seems the PLP is more interested in getting people across the harbour quicker."

And Ms Gordon-Pamplin accepted that the UBP did not know enough about the details of the ferry contract to decide whether it could be cancelled or not.

But she added: "If the contract has reached the point where it cannot be negotiated out of, then we would have to go ahead. But it will be looked at."

And when asked where the UBP would find money to pay for extra Police officers, drug sniffer dogs and Ion scanners, she added "If we find tons of money for ferries, if we find tons of money for cars, and if we find tons of money to finish the National Stadium, we can better prioritise.

"But we are not going to cut back on education, housing or our seniors. We feel that effective planning will show us where the money is."

Dr. Brown said at the end of last month that Boston shipbuilders Gladding-Hearn, who built the last two fast ferries, had been unable to bid for the contract this time because its busy schedule meant it would be unable to meet Government's completion deadline.

The new ferries are earmarked to replace ageing Somerset ferries Deliverance, Patience and Sea Venture, although Marine and Ports Director Barry Coupland said they could be used on any route.

The ferries will be 12 feet shorter and three feet narrower than Serenity and Resolute, which carry 250 people, but feature the same engines to standardise servicing and spare part replacement.