Jenkins Marine’s multi-role vessel Stour made front page news this week after a car slid down the slipway and into the water while waiting for the Sandbanks car  Ferry to arrive. The blue Honda was at the front of the queue for the chain ferry when the handbrake is believed to have failed.

An eyewitness said:

“There was a guy on the slipway at the front of the queue and he got out and his car started to follow him. The velocity of the car had overtaken him and he waded into the water and tried to restrain it and we were shouting at him to get back as slipways can be slippery. The ferry had to be halted for a while and a crane turned up…”

The Bournemouth Echo, who featured the incident on their Friday Front page continued the story:

A barge from Jenkins Marine with a hydraulic arm attached then arrived on the scene and manoeuvred the boat to shallow water. A crew member then climbed on top of the vehicle while it was in the water and placed a strap through the open windows before it could be lifted out. As the car was being lifted from the sea and onto the barge, water could be seen pouring out of the vehicle as members of the public watched on from the water’s edge.”

Stour is an extremely versatile ‘multi-category’ vessel. Offering shallow draft, deck crane, spud legs, and substantial deck space was able to easily retrieve the car from the water although her normal duties would involve diving, construction, dredging support duties, salvage, and survey work. Stour is certified Cat2 for operation up to 60nm from safe haven.

You can read the full article and see a video of the retrieval on the Bournemouth Echo page here: https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17006911.car-slips-into-water-while-waiting-for-sandbanks-ferry/

Ironically Jenkins Marine will be back to the same location to remove the sandbanks chain ferry ‘Bramble Bush Bay’ from it’s chains on Monday 29^th October. This operation involves 3 vessels (Utility vessel Buffalo, Motor Tug Polmear and a small workboat) and a lot of crew. This will then be followed by the towage of the 74m x 16.5m chain ferry from Poole to Falmouth by 15t Bollard Pull twin screw tug ‘Handfast’. The ferry will be dry docked in Falmouth for a refit, before being returned to Poole.