DORSET Council has defended a decision to allow a visiting catamaran to stop at Weymouth Harbour during lockdown.

The harbour has been closed to visitors since November 5, when a ‘notice to mariners’ was issued, informing skippers of the temporary restrictions in place as a result of the latest Government lockdown measures to curb the pandemic.

But concerned residents were surprised to see a striking catamaran, named ‘Fantastic 100’, berthed at the harbour over the weekend.

Rob Vincent, who took photographs of the vessel lit up on Sunday night, described it as a ‘James Bond’ boat and expressed concern about the visit during lockdown.

However it was later confirmed that permission had been granted for the crew to make an unscheduled visit to Weymouth so that essential repairs could be carried out onboard.

On behalf of the harbour office, a Dorset Council spokesman said: “A catamaran, part of a commercial yacht delivery, berthed at Weymouth harbour over the weekend. This was unscheduled, but was permitted as they had to make essential mechanical repairs. They departed on Sunday as soon as these repairs were completed.”

Under the new rules at Weymouth Harbour, no visitor requests are to be accepted during lockdown, while Weymouth Town Bridge will only be lifted for essential purposes.

However the notice to mariners also states that commercial vessels may continue to operate for essential work, subject to criteria set by the harbour authority.

Weymouth Harbour and Weymouth Bay have been busy with boat traffic since the beginning of the pandemic.

Up to 10 cruise ships have been resting offshore since the first lockdown began in March and, in between the two lockdowns, they became a tourist attraction for locals and visitors as charter boats took passengers as close as 50 metres from the liners.

The waters have become a resting spot for cruise ships during the lockdowns and have seen numerous vessels come and go over the past few months.