Improvements will be made to the embattled Watford/Cavello ferry route, the director of the Department of Marine and Ports Services, Richard Russell, has pledged.

Passengers on the green route service complained to this newspaper last week about unreliable bathroom and air conditioning facilities, cramped conditions and consistently late arrivals.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette, Mr Russell outlined plans for three new generators that would deal with the air conditioning problems, a new staff timekeeping policy to be presented to the Bermuda Industrial Union, and the replacement of the Tempest vessel with the larger Serenity. Regarding the lateness of the vessels on the route, Mr Russell pointed to staff shortages due to Department budget constraints — the full ferry service staff force of 72 has been reduced by 16.

Issues of staff lateness and sickness also played a part, he said.

Administrative actions are being taken with existing staff members turning up late, while a stricter policy is being put into place in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

“Nobody has been let go of since I have been here due to lateness,” he said. “Staff may turn up late or even worse they don’t turn up at all.

“They go sick and because of the CBA they can go two days without producing a doctor’s certificate. We do have a standby crew in the mornings but because of staff shortages we don’t even always have that standby. There is a hiring freeze.

“A week or two weeks ago, we put out a timekeeping policy for our staff members. We are now more specific — looking at five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour lateness … it is that specific and the necessary actions will take place.”

Mr Russell said that the new policy could still be violated, adding: “It is quite an extensive process to lose your job — there are verbal and written warnings and there are several stages of punishment from stage one to four, after which you can lose your job.

“It takes quite some time to get you to a stage four — if you are shrewd you can avoid it, reports of lateness only stay on your record for a certain amount of time.”

Mr Russell said the air conditioning difficulties were being caused by the generator tripping.

“A plan is afoot,” he added. “We have ordered three new generators of a higher output capacity.”

Discussing overcrowding, one senior Marine and Ports source said: “We only have one 350-passenger vessel and especially on the peak cruise ship periods, the greater demand is towards Dockyard for the tourists, so we try to meet the greatest demands.

“The 5.20pm service never approaches 200 so the vessel we provide is adequate although not as comfortable as the commuters are used to — we would put the Cecil Smith on that run but during the season we have to meet our demand.”

Mr Russell and Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell have agreed to meet disgruntled commuter Sallie De Silva to discuss concerns.