Angry mayor seeks face to face with ferry's UK buyers

Angry mayor seeks face to face with ferry's UK buyers

The Mayor of Rochester, New York State, is fizzing. His patience is running thin and he wants answers faster than the fastest fast ferry.

Certainly faster than the city's own fast ferry which has been idle for some time awaiting its UK buyers to actually come and buy the thing. Indeed, their own speed has been called into question.

The SPIRIT OF ONTARIO is currently laid up at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, placed there in December 2006 months after the announcement in May 2006 that a British company called Euroferries Ltd were to purchase the vessel from Rochester's ferry company for $29.8 million. Despite papers and emails flying to and fro across the Atlantic, the ferry hasn't done much crossing itself and the mayor is livid.

Now Mayor Duffy wants a face to face.

The Rochester Chronicle reports: "It really comes down to one thing: My frustration with how this process has dragged on for months and there has not been a face-to-face negotiation," said Duffy, who has told city Corporation Counsel Thomas Richards to make travel arrangements. "I'm putting an end to this endless stream of e-mails and phone calls."

Euroferries' own website, which appears to have been last updated on the date of its creation, 8th of June 2006, merely states that a press release on its intention to begin operations as "the most innovative, successful and effective high speed cross-channel operator" is 'imminent'. The address for the company is simply given as 'Dover, UK'

Last year Euroferries had announced they were to source another ship as well as look to Austal to build them a new vessel. So far nothing seems to have materialised on these intended purchases.

The newspaper Kent on Sunday reported last year that Mr Geoffrey Ede, the former MD of Hoverspeed, was acting as 'advisor' to Euroferries and was angered by the Mayor of Rochester announcing the sale. The online newspaper quoted him as saying "The mayor of Rochester's blown it all out." Rochester officials say the agreement was not signed by Mr Ede, but a Mr Adrian Charles Gillan.

Adrian Gillan in a statement, again issued last year when pressed upon the operations of Euroferries, had responded, "We have a clear and well thought out strategy for this project ... and one that we are not at this stage prepared to share."

(Photo 2004 Ryan Tucker)