TARBERT Harbour Board’s Consulting Engineer has undertaken the annual inspection of the East Pier and is advising that its use by vessels like the P.S. Waverley should be prohibited.
He states ‘The East Pier has continued to deteriorate; it is in worse condition than was observed during last year’s inspection and is in significantly worse condition than was observed in March 2006.’
The Harbour Board’s Trustees are obviously extremely disappointed that this prohibition is now required.
Chairman of the Board, Alan Macdonald said, ‘It is unfortunate that the rate of deterioration of the pier forces this situation on us.
‘Unless immediate funding can be sourced I am afraid that we may well have seen the last visit of the PS Waverley to Tarbert. The Waverley has had a long association with Tarbert and its visits have given a lot of enjoyment to many people over the years. It is very sad that this era is now coming to an end.’
The Trustees have been aware of the condition of the pier for some time. Due to the lack of funding they were forced to take a decision last year to manage the demise of the East Pier with a view to extending its useful life for as long as possible. They will continue to seek support for maintenance/refurbishment funds to restore the pier to have the capacity to cope with as large a vessel as possible.
