AQW 7688/16-21


Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford


Tabled Date: 22/11/2016
Answered On Date: 06/12/2016
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail how many times the Strangford ferry has been suspended or cancelled due to (i) weather conditions; and (ii) maintenance issues in the last five years.


Answer:
The number of sailings suspended due to weather and mechanical problems since January 2011 is given in the table below. Please note that the figures given in the Weather column includes fog, storm and extreme tides conditions. The ferry sails every 15 minutes during timetabled operating hours.
Number of suspended sailings
(from approximately 22,000 sailings per year)
Year
Weather
Breakdown /  Essential Maintenance
Total
2011
63
63
126
2012
119
6
125
2013
77
59
136
2014
174
51
225
2015
115
43
158
2016
114
35
149
(to end Nov)
Total
662
257
919
I would also like to draw your attention to the availability statistics for the service over the past five years as tabulated below. These figures exclude sailings that have been suspended due to weather and extreme tides conditions.
Year
Availability %
2011/2012
99.71%
2012/2013
99.99%
2013/2014
99.66%
2014/2015
99.53%
2015/2016
(up to end November)
99.77%