Are there any reasons why some traffic lanes are not filled in a standard sequence?

We are often asked why we don’t complete the loading of lanes in sequenced order i.e., start loading at the front of lane A, fill it, then repeat in lane B, etc. There are a number of key considerations that we take into account when loading and the outcome will invariably be influenced by the size, type and quantity of vehicles waiting to be called forward.

The list below highlights some of these key considerations :

• wider vehicles – Lanes C and D on the ferries are wider than the other lanes, so we direct bigger, wider vehicles into those lanes e.g. buses
• motorcycles and cycles – Lane F has a canopy and is used to shelter and protect motorcycles and cycles from the elements and try to provide a practical level of comfort and safety
• other vehicles use of Lane F – where demand dictates, other vehicles may also be placed in Lane F, but this is restricted and subject to suitability of individual vehicles due a height restriction created by the overhead canopy
• heavy vehicles – we avoid loading heavy vehicles on to the moveable part of the prow
• high vehicles – we avoid loading high vehicles into positions that block the line of sight of the person controlling and landing the ferry
• weight distribution – we aim to load and stow vehicles evenly across the deck for stability
• narrow prows – we may change the order of loading and unloading dependent on the vehicle loading configuration i.e. quantity of buses, cars, vans, minibuses etc to accommodate vehicles safely and efficiently boarding or unloading though narrow gaps due to reduced access of the ferry prows
• optimising deck space utilisation in periods of high demand.

As we can’t anticipate what vehicles will join the queue and the crew member loading the ferry cannot see the queuing traffic, staff are trained to assume that every load will be at maximum capacity and include a large quantity of oversized or awkward shaped vehicles.