The majority of public ferries remained out of action last night due to an industrial dispute — but neither Government nor Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) would reveal what sparked the row.

Government was also unable yesterday to say whether the blue, orange and green ferry routes would be running today or why it failed to tell the public that the pink route would be operating as usual yesterday.

A Department of Marine and Ports spokeswoman would only say that "ferry operators moved to suspend commuter service until further notice" after union discussions on Tuesday.

"The public are advised that the Paget/Warwick ferry service is currently operational and providing commuter service," she said.

"There has been no official word on when the remaining commuter routes will resume service. However, Marine and Ports... will continue to keep the public appraised regarding further developments with the ferry service."

BIU president Chris Furbert would not confirm yesterday whether ferry workers were on strike or explain why they moved to suspend the commuter service. "All I can say is they have some issues they are trying to work through," he told The Royal Gazette . "They are in the process of working through those challenges."

Government notified the public of the industrial dispute when it issued a statement at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.

The statement said the ferry service would be suspended until further notice "following on from today's union discussions" and gave no other details.

But yesterday morning, unaware commuters who showed up to catch ferries to Hamilton on the pink route were able to do so as usual. The pink route vessels Georgia and Coralita were in operation all day.

Those who made alternative arrangements to get to the city, as advised by Government, told this newspaper they were baffled by what was going on.

At 5 p.m. yesterday, Hamilton ferry terminal was deserted, apart from a couple of locals planning to catch the 5.15 p.m. pink route service.

Signs had been posted advising passengers that the orange and blue St. George's and Dockyard routes were cancelled. The green Rockaway service was also believed not to be running.

A Marine and Ports worker said it was the fast ferries which were not operating but refused to say why. "Sometimes, we have to play our cards close to our chests," he said.

A source — who would not be named — told this newspaper on Tuesday that concerns about ferry maintenance were behind the dispute.

The BIU agreed last year that its members would have a "cooling off" period of up to 72 hours before taking industrial action.

The pledge was given in return for Government letting the BIU-owned Union Asset Holdings Ltd. off the hook for $6.8 million owed under a bond due when the Berkeley secondary school project failed.

It is not known if a cooling-off period took place before the decision by ferry workers to suspend the service this week.

Mr. Furbert would not answer further questions and the Marine and Ports spokeswoman did not respond to queries.

• Are you an aggrieved ferry worker or disgruntled commuter or tourist? Have your say by calling our newsdesk on 278-0137 or 278-0133 or emailing news@royalgazette.bm.