– It’s frustrating to say the least, says Johansen, who has been a ferry commuter for 17 years. On Monday, Johansen had to run to the ferry and leave the car at Dønna. On Tuesday, Johansen was not allowed to join at all. – Those who remained were never given the opportunity to jump aboard the quay. Johansen says that the motorists on the quay must have been told that there were vacancies on both side decks. She also saw this herself. However, they did not get a place. As a result, between 15 and 20 cars had to remain on the quay. Hilde Johansen lives in Dønna and works in Sandnessjøen. Here the ferry leaves for Sandnessjøen without Hilde, who must remain at the ferry quay. No other option Johansen says she parked in the ferry queue 26 minutes before departure. Nevertheless, she did not come. The next ferry did not leave until 17:30. Thus Johansen’s plans went down the drain, just like the day before. – I had promised myself and would not become one of those who join the chorus of howls. But this is our way. We don’t have any other option. Hilde Johansen has been a ferry commuter for 17 years. Now she has had enough of delays, cancellations and Photo: Private Now Johansen is tired of having to cancel appointments because she doesn’t get the ferry or that it is delayed. – It makes it much more difficult to live out here. You have an expectation that things will move forward, but then they don’t. Narrow ferry tires are the reason news has previously written about the ferry tires being too narrow for new cars. Since then, Norled has re-marked the car lanes on the side decks, so that it is no longer permitted to stop in the narrowest areas. – There has been a bit of a tight passage on the side decks. There are certain areas with slightly narrower sections and people should not park there. Now we have refreshed the paint and the crew are more careful not to park cars there. This is what operations manager at Norled, Johnny Alveskjær, tells news. Therefore, it may look free on the side house tires, even if it is not. Alveskjær confirms that the practice of using the side tires has been tightened after news reported on the matter in May. – Via the media, we have previously been told that some travelers think the side decks are too narrow. The crew is therefore more focused now on sending the smallest cars here. 100 meters of ferry queue There has also been ferry trouble on Meløy after the car ferry “Virak” slammed into the quay at Ågskardet last week. Yngve Brox Guldbjørnsen tells of several hundred meters of queues after Torghatten deployed a smaller ferry. The ferry yard on Forøy in Meløy municipality Photo: Yngve Brox Guldbjørnsen – The ferry is only half as big as the previous one. “Virak” takes 60 cars, while the one going now takes 30 cars. – They had relatively good control on Wednesday morning, but then they had to take a trailer with special goods and thus it piled up. It was just like yesterday. Guldbjørnsen, believes the long ferry queues will persist until a new ferry is in place. – They bring small ferries and old equipment. In addition to the fact that they struggle with what they call technical problems, which are actually crew problems, says Guldbjørnsen. Operations manager at Torghatten Nord, Alf Vidar Jakobsen, denies that the problems are linked to crew problems. – The ferry is not running according to the route now. It runs in one so it should be able to clear the queue. They drive as much as it takes to get all the cars over. The goal is that no one should be left behind when night falls. Furthermore, he says that “Virak” will be back on Friday at the latest. Jakobsen does not share Guldbjørnsen’s opinion of the ferry. – It is not old. The ferry that runs normally is even older. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the one who walks now. – We will do what we can Hilde Johansen moved back to Dønna in 1999. She says that she has never been left with the car in Dønna as much in all these years as after Norled took over the route from 1 January this year. Photo: Hilde Johansen – It’s a combination of ferry equipment that doesn’t measure up and a route layout that is under any criticism. I feel that the ferry crew are doing the best they can, so this must be brought up to those responsible, says Johansen. The crew experiences that some passengers do not follow instructions to drive onto the side house deck, which can lead to problems with stowing cars, says Johnny Alveskjær. It is regrettable that Johansen feels that he has been left with the car at Dønna, says operations manager Alveskjær. – We are sorry for that. Unfortunately, there are departures where it is full. There has been a lot of traffic and, in addition, we have to respect the timetables. – We will do what we can to get as many people as possible and at the same time maintain the routes during a busy summer season. – What assessments did the crew make, which meant that several passengers had to stay behind? – The crew does the best they can every day to stow vehicles and adhere to timetables.
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The ferry causes trouble for passengers going from Dønna to Sandnessjøen and on Meløy – news Nordland
