There will be 8 days of disruption on Wightlink’s Fishbourne – Portsmouth vehicle ferry service during the month of September.
At the ferry terminal in Fishbourne, the cross-Solent travel operator will be replacing the fenders as part of their port facilities renewal programme.
The works are to be undertaken on 2 days at the start of September (2nd – 3rd September) and again at the end of the month (26th September – 1st October). The works are essential in protecting the ship and port structure during berthing.
Each fender weighs 8 tons. They are made of timber and rubber, coated with plastic and measure nine metres by 1.2 metres by one metre. The old fenders were installed in 1984 and will be recycled.
On Saturday 2nd September, the 06:00 and 18:00 from Portsmouth Gunwharf to Fishbourne and 07:00 and 19:00 from Fishbourne to Portsmouth Gunwharf will be cancelled.
On Sunday 3rd September, the 18:40 and 19:20 from Gunwharf to Fishbourne and 19:40 and 20:20 from Fishbourne to Gunwharf will be cancelled.
At the end of September, the final 3 fenders will be replaced, with divers and contractors supporting Wightlink staff. The Portsmouth Gunwharf to Fishbourne route will be closed overnight from 00:01 to 05:40 from Tuesday 26th September to Sunday 1st October inclusive.
These extra car ferry services will operate on these days:
- Portsmouth Gunwharf to Fishbourne: 21:00, 23:00, 05:00
- Fishbourne to Portsmouth Gunwharf: 22:00, 23:59, 06:00
In addition, there will be extra FastCat sailings at 04:15 from Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier and 04:45 from Ryde Pier from Tuesday 26 September to Friday 29 September.
Wightlink Chief Executive Keith Greenfield says:
“This is a major investment by Wightlink in our round-the-clock Portsmouth to Fishbourne route. Our car ferries use the fenders dozens of times a day to berth safely and it is now time to replace all of them. We will endeavour to keep noise and disturbance to a minimum. However, some sailings will need to be cancelled and we are sorry if customers are inconvenienced by this essential work.”
Left hand down a bit.
There will be 8 days of disruption no change there then