Council plans to make greater use of the river Tay at Perth have not been properly investigated, according to master mariner Captain Douglas Harvey.
He fears that the £600,000 currently being spent on constructing pontoons to serve pleasure craft could end up an expensive “white elephant”.
With more than 30 years spent at sea, Captain Harvey has a lifetime’s experience navigating the world’s oceans so he was interested when the plans for pontoons at Tay Street, Willowgate and Elcho Castle were first unveiled.
But it quickly became apparent to him that many issues relating to navigating the Tay had, in his opinion, not been considered properly.
“Anything that floats is classified as a vessel meaning that these pontoons would require to have a manned lookout according to the 1972 regulations,” said Captain Harvey, 61,of Perth.
He said that they would require to be manned at all times which, working on an eight-hour day, would require four people to be employed.
“If you want to work more than 48 hours you can opt out of regulations unless you work on a vessel,” he pointed out.
If a pontoon is regarded as a vessel even if it doesn’t move it would also require to be registered with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), have navigation lights, life craft and a life craft certificate which would need to be renewed every year.
Captain Harvey believes another problem he has identified was that the Tay from the South Inch upwards to the pontoon on Tay Street had not been surveyed.
“If it isn’t surveyed you won’t get insurance,” he maintained. “Obviously this would have to be done properly before advising the Admiralty to update the chart.
“It would also be impossible to have regular sailing times each day as the river is still tidal at Perth meaning that suitable departure times would vary from day to day.”
And Captain Harvey also foresees problems with access for wheelchair users. By law, he says, boatmen operating a vessel for use by the public may require various certificates which were “expensive and not easy” to pass.
“It could be £600,000 is lost or wasted,” he warned.
A council spokesperson said: “The pontoons proposed for the river Tay at Tay Street, Willowgate and Elcho Castle have been fully researched and we are confident that what has been proposed will not become a ‘white elephant’.
“The project will be compliant with both planning and marine legislation. Pontoons are a feature on a number of rivers across the country and have proven to be a success, and we believe that we can achieve similar success with this project.”
Councillor Alexander Stewart said the matters raised should be examined.
“This venture has been talked about for some time and I would hope that the i’s have been dotted and the t’s crossed with reference to insurance and surveying the river,” he said.
“I would sincerely hope it never becomes a white elephant because I believe there are real opportunities to capitalise on the river running through the middle of our city.
“If managed properly it could see real benefits for business, tourism and leisure.”