Harbour Lock Gate Incident Update

Regular readers of my blog will recall the recent entry which passed on a press release from Premier Marinas following an incident during the night on the 4th August in which a pontoon was broken up and some low level damage was suffered by a small number of boats. This blog entry has been widely read and through my work as a local Councillor in the ward, I am aware of the concern felt amongst a number of residents about the incident.

 

As no further update had been released and in view of the level of concern felt, I contacted the Marina Manager to request a further update. This update is published in full below and I hope that whilst it does not clarify causes of the incident, it does give a little more information and I hope that this may give residents more comfort that the matter is being looked into thoroughly by Premier Marinas and that the findings of the investigation will be released in early October.

 

 

Premier Marinas - Latest Comment:

 

“At 00:27 hours on 4 August 2012 the outer lock gate of the west lock at Sovereign Harbour

Marina was opened during a routine procedure to “top up” the water levels within the marina basin.  The gate was partially open for 2 minutes 30 seconds.  This created a tidal flow on six vessels moored on a single pontoon adjacent to the lock, resulting in this pontoon breaking into three sections. Six boats, in a marina occupied by 727 boats, were affected by the incident.  None of these boats suffered any serious damage, no persons were injured and at no time was the harbour at risk of flooding.  The lock management system has a number of safety features designed to manage the risk presented by unwanted flooding of the marina basin and the outer lock gates will close automatically when the water level within the marina basin reaches a pre-determined level.

An investigation into the incident, led by the Harbour Master, has been concluded.  The results of the investigation are being reviewed by The Harbour Board which has responsibility under the Port Marine Safety Code for the safe operation of the marina.  Findings of the investigation will be shared with relevant stakeholders through the Sovereign Harbour Users and Stakeholders Group which next meets on 2^nd October 2012.    Berth holders, residents, The RNLI, The Environment Agency, The Police and The Fire Service are represented on this group.”

 

Ends.