Red Funnel has cancelled at least 2 car ferries sailings for Thursday morning in additional to 2 sailings cancelled earlier on this evening (Wednesday).
An issue with the main Aft engine has resulted in Red Falcon being pulled from service.
The 19:30 sailing from Southampton and the 21:00 return from East Cowes were cancelled this evening, but it has now been revealed that both the 04:30 from Southampton and the 06:00 from East Cowes have also been cancelled.
It’s unclear at this stage if any further timetable changes will be made. However, the cross-Solent operator is already warning of possible disruption to its hi-speed Red Jet passenger service tomorrow.
Red Funnel apologises for any inconvenience to your journey.
UPDATE THURSDAY @ 06:20 – 2 further cancellations have been confirmed – the 07:30 from Southampton and the 09:00 from East Cowes.
UPDATE @ 10:01 – Red Funnel has now announced that the 10:30 sailing from Southampton and the 12:00 sailing from East Cowes have also been cancelled.
UPDATE @ 11:11 – The 13:30 sailing from Southampton and the 15:00 sailing from East Cowes have now also been cancelled due to the ongoing technical issue.
UPDATE @ 13:56 – With the engine issue still not fixed, Red Funnel has now cancelled both the 16:30 and 19:30 sailings from Southampton, as well as the 18:00 and 21:00 sailings from East Cowes.
That takes the total number of cancelled sailings to 14.
Excellent service by both ferry companies.
This is beyond a joke,Who is regulating these companies on publics behalf?
Isle of Wight Council stay silent, Ministry of transport turn a blind eye also.
Nobody is regulating them.
Nobody has the authority to regulate them.
They are private enterprises and don’t operate under any public service agreement or receive any subsidy to run unprofitable crossings.
Their only requirement is that they run their services according to MCA regulations, and that only covers safety.
We used to have one ferry service that did have a public service commitment (Sealink), but that boat sailed (pun intended) when the Thatcher Government sold them off in 1984 for a quick buck.
Sealink’s demise was part of the privatisation of British Rail. The part of Sealink which became Wightlink had the option to align with the railway franchise framework (and therefore contract penalties for poor performance), but Sealink management bought out the company and rebranded it Wightlink before legislation could be brought about.
Agh, need to go I see my mum and my ferries cancelled typical!!
30 year old boats with the only investment in them is to extract more money from the customer. It’s about time red funnel started investing in a new reliable fleet otherwise this situation will only get worse. Better still, time for a fixed link.
Totally agree. A few years ago I knew a manager who was quite senior in the Red Funnel hierarchy and who left because of the total mismanagement of the company. She often said that the ferries were well past their sailing life and instead of adding decks they should be investing in new and greener ferries. When she voiced her thoughts, as others did, she was told that “profit and shareholders were God.” Be prepared for more and more engine breakdowns until they finally give up the ghost.
As long as they invest in proper maintenance, 30 year old assets are not the issue – it’s the lack of regular maintenance and preventative action causing issues . I drive 45 year old trains which are a lot more reliable than newer ones – but they are well looked after! Ironically, they have the same engines as some of the RF fleet!
158’s or 165’s Rob?
158, 16x and 255’s mainly.
When you think of how much we pay for these ferries to get across the solent, the service they offer is disgusting. Let’s get more ferries companies offering a service and be given a choice of what one we use.
Simplistic thinking.
Where are you going to be running these ferries from and to?
There are three places that a car ferry can land on the Isle of Wight, and all of them are taken.
Who is going to crew these ferries?
Both Wightlink and Red Funnel have real staffing problems.
Who is going to buy these ferries?
The replacement of the “C” class ferries on the Yarmouth route cost £25 million and the Victoria of Wight cost £30 million and Red Funnel’s cheap-as-chips Red Kestrel freight ferry cost £10 million.
We all seeing the pattern here?whatever the feeble pathetic bs excuse they give….ONLY ODD RANDOM CROSSINGS CANCELLED!
If these things ACTUALLY happened a problem doesnt happen hour in morning hour later on ect utter shameful service.and too now pull the teck issue when it obv can run at other times is tad strange right?
ALSO SEALY HAS A FAMILY MEMBER WHO RUNS ONE OF THEM SO GO FIGURE…NO CHANGES WILL EVER MADE
It’s because if there’s a major replacement needed, which I’m guessing they’re must be, they need a sea trial and an MCA/dnv/Lloyds etc inspector needs to sign it off before they’re allowed to get into service again . It’s a ship thing, I’m in another shipping industry and it’s same same there, but obviously not for a load of passengers.
You realise they have more than one boat right? They’ve only cancelled the sailings that would have been operated by the Falcon
However, the cross-Solent operator is already warning of possible disruption to its hi-speed Red Jet passenger service tomorrow
What has that got to do with car ferry out of service?