Wightlink has been forced to suspend its Fastcat passenger service between Ryde and Portsmouth due to a mechanical issue – and it won’t resume until at least lunchtime on Sunday.
The cross-Solent operator has confirmed that due to the ongoing issue, the Ryde Pier Head-Portsmouth Harbour route has been suspended and will remain so for the rest of the day.
It’s said that due to additional repair work being required, the Fastcat service will not run tomorrow morning either and will remain suspended until at least 12:15, as engineers work to safely resolve the undisclosed issue.
Earlier in the day, the 14:15 sailing from Portsmouth and the 14:45 from Ryde had to be cancelled. It came at a time when rival firm Hovertravel cancelled crossings due to a technical issue and the impacts of weather, although their service has since resumed.
All Wightlink tickets and passes will be valid on the Fishbourne-Portsmouth car ferry service.
Today’s disruption comes just 24 hours after a person jumped from the top of Wight Ryder II‘s open air passenger deck, leading to a rescue operation.
