Main Chain Supply for the Torpoint Ferries

The three Torpoint ferries each use two 655 metre lengths of chain to guide and propel each ferry across the Tamar Estuary. A driven chain wheel grips each chain and pulls the vessel through the water. The chains are normally changed after 3 years in service to maintain their functional requirement and to stay within the Lloyds Register tolerances for acceptable wear. This change periodicity is not binding and is dependent on actual wear, whether that be slower or faster than predicted. The chains are critical to t...