Full ferry service is expected to be up and running tomorrow morning, nearly a week after workers took industrial action over maintenance issues.

According to a Department of Marine and Ports spokeswoman, a "host of mechanical and cosmetic defects that have beset various ferry boats for several months" have been addressed in the last few days.

The Department said they understood the dissatisfaction and inconvenience caused to the public, but added safety was of "paramount importance" while operating the vessels.

Yesterday the blue ferry route from Hamilton to Dockyard and pink route from Hamilton to Paget and Warwick were in service.

According to one commuter, a sign at the Dockyard ferry stop said there would be "no St. George's ferries until further notice". The Dockyard timetable board also showed that ferries before 5 p.m. were not in service.

The commuter, who asked not to be named, said she had witnessed air conditioners leaking heavily and ferry engines cutting out. There were also regular problems with the bathrooms and on occasion alarms had gone off unexpectedly, she added.

"It's a pain in the neck when the ferries aren't running. But it's good that they are getting it sorted now because it is a safety concern."

Marine and Ports director Francis Richardson said the Department keeps a maintenance schedule and programme, which ensures the safe operation of the entire ferry fleet.

He said that because the vessels were used heavily this summer it made it difficult to comply with the maintenance schedule.

As a result "some of the maintenance issues requiring attention such as mechanical, hull and aesthetic upkeep on the ferries were not addressed in a timely fashion", Mr. Richardson said.

His department determined that while some of the maintenance issues were pressing, at no time was there a risk to operator or public safety. Still, workers opted to withdraw service until all maintenance issues could be addressed at once, he said.

Discussions have been ongoing with the Bermuda Industrial Union and full service is expected to resume tomorrow, Mr. Richardson added.

"The reality is that the demand for ferry service continues to increase and the Department is now in the process of finalising short and long-term maintenance plans that will prevent this kind of action from happening in the future.

"As the fleet is ageing and usage is high, these plans require the assistance of the various overseas shipyards, and the training and retraining of the crew and maintenance staff to ensure that all Marine and Ports staff are fully equipped to address the ongoing challenges in a high usage environment."

He said the winter ferry schedule would be released in the next few days and was being amended to allow for more upgrade time for the fleet.

Junior Minister of Transport, Marc Bean said: "As demand continues to grow, the ideal scenario is the acquisition of an additional ferry to support this area of the public transportation system."

In a statement sent to this paper on Sunday, Opposition Leader Kim Swan called the handling of the ferry dispute "appalling". He questioned why Government was planning to replace the fast ferries, many of which were only seven years old.

Mr. Swan said: "Before we embark on new ferry purchases, it is very important to review the safety and maintenance challenges we now seem to be facing as well as design issues on some of the ferries.

"Some of the maintenance challenges may result from a lack of proper resources. We believe a review should be done by an independent marine surveyor. If we are having maintenance and design issues after just seven years, then we need the clearest sense of the issues before going back out on the market. We don't want to repeat any mistakes that appear to have been made."

He claimed a value-for-money assessment should be done and added that Government should expect longer life from its vessels.

"That there now appears to be some movement within Government to replace the [ferries] after such a short time period is very troubling.

"But let's step back for a broader view. The disruption in services, the downing of tools by maintenance workers, pilots expressing safety concerns, Cabinet-level talk about replacing the fast ferries — all this says that the Dr. Brown's ferry programme is in deep trouble.

"Questions have to be asked. Were these the right boats for Bermuda? Is the Government's maintenance operation adequately resourced and trained to keep the ferries in service?"