The Island's ferries are in very good condition and there is no plan to replace them, according to Marine and Ports director Francis Richardson.

However the Department would like to add another vessel to accommodate the overworked fleet, he said.

In a sit-down interview with The Royal Gazette, Mr. Richardson said some of the maintenance problems which led staff to take industrial action last month were expected.

He said that with some of the fast ferries operating five times a week, up to 16 hours a day, finding time to make repairs was difficult.

Some vessels needed to be painted or had worn carpets and seat covers. More serious problems involved leaky air conditioners, flooded toilets and overheated engines, he added.

"There are always those services outside of the schedule," Mr. Richardson said. "When there are two cruise ships in Dockyard they operate an extra service to provide shuttle service on demand. The vessels, particularly the large ones, are working five days a week and you are generally looking for Saturday to do your service, so then it becomes challenging.

"We were challenged this year, it wasn't a case of experiencing an abnormal amount of preventive maintenance issues. We had an unprecedented number of unscheduled service repairs."

Mr. Richardson said that added strain was put on the ferries as the number of cruise ship arrivals increased from 139 to 151 this year.

Some vessels were also called on to provide extra ferry service to Veendam passengers into St. George, he added.

After workers downed their tools on September 29, Junior Transport Minister Marc Bean claimed the oldest ferries, Resolute and Serenity, needed to be replaced.

Mr. Richardson said yesterday: "The idea that the vessels need to be replaced is off the mark. "There is nothing wrong with them structurally.

"We do replace engines throughout their life and that is normal.

"The fact that we are having problems and challenges is nothing new. It is just part of the business on a daily basis. It is just a lot of the issues do not get into the public domain."

He said the vessels could last beyond the 20-year lifespan Peter Duclos, president of Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding estimated they should have.

Mr. Richardson said Marine and Ports management devised a plan to tackle maintenance problems but staff acted before anything could be put into place. Bermuda Industrial Union members wanted to "make a statement", Mr. Richardson said.

"Their statement was ultimately to inconvenience our customers.

"I certainly understand the frustrations because some of the repairs were long-standing but I do not think downing tools was the right approach because as management we have been taking steps over the last two months to address some of these issues."

He said that the Department of Marine and Ports has identified short- and long-term plans to ensure the fast ferries are working efficiently.

These include working with the German company that manufactures the ferries' engines, to get supplies faster and speed up ferry maintenance and moving into an indoor maintenance facility in Dockyard which would allow work to be carried out in poor weather conditions such as rain and strong winds.

Another short-term solution is to increase staff supervision, which would help to address some perpetual operational problems like tardiness, absenteeism and other systemic staff issues.

Despite the problems Mr. Richardson maintained said the Island had one of the best ferry services.

"What I found even more interesting is all of our clients outside of Bermuda have nothing but praise for our service. It's second to none.

"We have so much to be proud of as a Country — you are going to have bumps in the road."