Seabed drilling tests

Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) has commissioned ground investigation work at Tarbert as part of the infrastructure upgrade project to prepare for a new ferry.

A £48 million ship is being built on the Clyde as a replacement for the MV Hebrides.

Seabed drilling work is required to obtain a more detailed understanding of ground and underwater conditions.

A ground investigation contractor, appointed following a competitive tender process, will be on-site at the harbour from Thursday 22nd March.

They will initially build a jack-up barge, which will be used to carry out drilling over water.

There will also be a limited amount of investigation drilling in the marshalling area and adjacent to the terminal building.

The drilling is due to commence on Monday 26th March and last for around four weeks, with work taking place during the day from Monday to Saturday.

Brian Sydney, senior civil engineer at CMAL said the results from the ground probes will govern the final design for the upgrade of the pier, berthing, car park, and shore base improvements at Tarbert.

He said: “Islanders and visitors will notice the contractor in the area with the jack-up barge, but the work will have no impact on ferry services, which will operate to timetable as normal.”

Seabed drilling tests for Tarbert harbour improvements

15 March 2018