Swift wind-driven currents whipped by bad weather last weekend are being blamed for a ramp on the new Kings Point ferry breaking and sinking into silt beneath the Yazoo Diversion Canal.

One of the cables that holds the ramp, or apron, snapped when the vessel, which was delivered to the county in June, pulled away from Kings Point island after dropping off a vehicle at about 4 p.m. Feb. 25, said Chuck Anderson, the pilot in charge at the time.

The weight of the ramp shifted and snapped the other cable, causing the entire piece to fall and sink, Anderson said.

Maximum wind speeds of 26 mph were recorded by the National Weather Service Feb. 25 with 2.74 inches of rainfall. The average wind speed was recorded at 11 mph. Tide stages on the canal at Yazoo City stood at 27.6 feet, down four-tenths of a foot from the previous day.

The ferry has not halted operation since and has been making its usual 6 a.m.-to-6 p.m. runs across the canal, mainly bringing hunting club members to work on their camps and deer stands.

Vehicles needing a lift across the canal from the island side to the mainland have been asked to back onto the ferry so they are facing foward when it’s time to drive off the boat, Anderson said.

Warren County Road Manager Richard Winans said he will request an emergency declaration at Monday’s regular scheduled board meeting to expedite work on a new ramp, with the cost expected to be just more than $36,000.

Hiring a diver to find the sunken ramp with sonar equipment was briefly considered, but supervisors meeting informally Thursday settled on having a new ramp and cable system attached.

Arc-Up Welding of Vicksburg will perform the work on-site and should be complete in three weeks, Winans said.

During high river stages, the Kings Point Ferry has been the only reliable way to reach the 18,000-acre Kings Point since the 1903 completion of the Yazoo Diversion Canal. The canal was dug to restore a waterfront presence to Vicksburg after the Mississippi River’s flow diverted in the 1870s.

A number of ideas surfaced in recent years to replace the old ferry, including a raised levee across the canal that would handle year-round vehicular traffic. That option was part of an Army Corps of Engineers study that was never acted on.

The county decided to keep a ferry operation there, hiring Tensas Machine and Manufacturing of Newellton to build the new vessel for $623,100 in May 2004. The county provides fuel and maintenance and pays a contract operator.

It was delivered last June and dedicated to the memory of Melvin &#8220Dolly” King, a longtime hunting camp owner on the island who gave the county the first Kings Point Ferry barge and push boat, which was replaced by the current vessel.