All ferry services have been cancelled today until further notice due to a dispute between Marine and Ports workers and Government.

No one from either side was available to comment on the reason for the row last night but The Royal Gazette understands it is connected to concerns about maintenance of the public ferries.

The suspension of all ferry services is thought to be due to industrial action planned today by members of Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU).

Government issued a statement last night which gave no details of the dispute or of any work stoppages.

The statement said: "Following on from today's union discussions, the Department of Marine and Ports is advising the public that tomorrow (Wednesday, September 29) the ferry service will be suspended until further notice.

"The Department of Marine and Ports is advising those members of the public who would normally commute via ferry to seek alternative transportation arrangements over the course of tomorrow. The Department will update the public once service has resumed."

Premier and Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown was in Washington, DC, last night and could not be reached for comment.

Nor could Marine and Ports director Francis Richardson or BIU president Chris Furbert.

BIU executive secretary LaVerne Furbert said Mr. Furbert was the only union official who could give details about the situation.

Shadow Transport Minister Kim Swan said he was "unaware of the reasoning behind this major disruption of service".

"The announcement of the suspension of tomorrow's ferry service does not bode well for us local commuters who are dependent on public transportation — in this case the ferry service — or inconvenienced visitors participating in our fledgling tourism industry," said the Opposition leader, last night.

"As a regular commuter myself, a major disruption of transportation services such as this is unsettling and comes amidst extremely tough economic times. We can only speculate that the reasoning behind such a disruption certainly is major and hope that service can be restored without prolonged inconvenience to the general public."

The ferry workers' action comes little more than a week after bus drivers refused to operate in the aftermath of Hurricane Igor. They claimed to be worried about safety, leading to all public buses being taken off the road for the day on September 21.

Dr. Brown declared the drivers' actions "amazingly insensitive" and "very unBermudian". It was later reported that the drivers received an apology from a Transport official.