The need for repair work to be carried out on the passenger gangway of Red Funnel’s Red Osprey car ferry means alternative arrangements are in place for foot passengers.
Those travelling on foot between East Cowes and Southampton will notice some changes to embarkation and disembarkation when travelling on Red Osprey.
At East Cowes, foot passengers will now walk up the upper vehicle ramp onto C deck. This is a larger incline than the normal foot passenger access and is not covered.
At Southampton, passengers will embark/disembark on E deck – 2 decks below the normal foot passenger access level. This means there is 3 flights of stairs to travel up instead of 1.
Red Funnel say they will do everything they can to offer assistance to passengers with reduced mobility and they have ensured that there are ample wheelchairs available. The ferry’s lifts are fully operational at this time.
Repair work is scheduled to take place during the first few days of February to bring the gangway back into operation. There will be no disruption to the advertised timetabled whilst this is carried out.
As well as the physical changes, foot passengers may find that it takes longer to embark/disembark from the ferry. This is due to health and safety as passengers and vehicles cannot use the vehicle ramp at the same time.
The cross-Solent operator is advising anyone who wants to avoid the disruption to travel on sailings operated by Red Falcon instead of Red Osprey.
A spokesperson for Red Funnel has said:
“Thank you for understanding as we adapt to this unexpected situation. We will update you again once this issue has been resolved. In the meantime, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.
“If you wish to discuss the situation further and require more support, please contact us at [email protected], and a member of our team will be happy to help”.
