More than £1 million was spent on the Cowes to East Cowes Floating Bridge last year, with the vessel recording a loss of more than £300,000. Figures from the Isle of Wight Council show that Floating Bridge 6 has yet to make a profit since coming into service in May 2017. In comparison, the old chain ferry recorded a profit of £120,452 in 2015/16. Floating Bridge 6 A freedom of information request has revealed that last year, the vessel had an income of £738,513. However, with an expenditure of £1,039,807, the local authority was left with a net trading loss of £301,294. A net loss of £36,388 was also recorded throughout 2016/17. That increased to £547,991, the following year (2017/18). So far this year, the vessel has been out of service for more than four weeks. As previously reported by Isle of Wight Radio, problems with its prow and hinge mechanism put it out of action for three of those. In the five months leading up to August 2019, Floating Bridge 6 has recorded a loss £64,112. Additional Expenditure The Isle of Wight Council says that, up to 20 September 2019, an additional £110,760 has been spent on chain depth surveys. The local authority has also had to pay £149,115.33 towards the vessel MV Seaclear, which is used to push the Floating Bridge into position. Councillor Ian Ward, the man in charge of Transport and Infrastructure, has previously hailed the service as 'reliable'. Isle of Wight Radio has contacted the Isle of Wight Council for a comment. *UPDATED 8.10am Wedensday *A council spokesman said:
"All of the costs associated with the operation of floating bridge 6 are publicly available through the council’s website, which provides information from 2012 onwards, and have been reported previously. Any additional subsidy in recent years represents the council’s commitment to maintaining the link between East and West Cowes whilst it attempts to resolve challenges of the new vessel.
"The council has not hidden from these challenges and the costs incurred in fixing them. Both continue to be the subject of ongoing legal advice.
"In the meantime the council will do it all that it can to support the service for the communities of East and West Cowes and is sure that the number of users will continues to rise as people start to recognise the service’s reliability and availability.
"In 2019 the floating bridge has carried an average of 34,000 foot passengers and 17,500 vehicles each month.”
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