Those travelling across the Solent with Wightlink are facing yet more disruption today (Tuesday) after the ferry St Faith was damaged as a result of a collision – not a mechanical issue as first thought.
Yesterday the cross-Solent operator said that customers could expect delays of up to 2 hours owing to a mechanical issue with the ageing St Faith. However, it has now been revealed that the mechanical issue is in fact light damage to the ferry after its prow came into contact with the berth at Fishbourne.
All sailings utilising the St Faith have been cancelled with St Clare now the only vessel operating on the Fishbourne-Portsmouth route. The flagship Victoria of Wight is out of service for an annual refit.
The following sailings have been cancelled:
From Fishbourne:
08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00
From Portsmouth:
07:00, 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00
It is expected that St Faith will return to service on Wednesday but will be unable to transport heavier vehicles, with sailings restricted to cars and small vans only.
Just gets worser and worser, why would anyone want to come
hahahahahhahahhahhahaha Wightlink utter joke of the century and the laughs are on us
Quicker to kayak over
A stiff fine of £250,000 would soon sort this out..!! Not for pranging the ferry, but for failing to have a reserve vessel on standby.
cheaper to pay any fine that to spend out the millions on another ferry – after all, having three does mean one spare which would undergo maintenance whilst the other two operate the route – cannot have all scenario’s covered – are you going to pay the higher ticket prices, for having to employ more crew, to crew a standby boat?
The crew just swap boats thicko.
not the sharpest are you batty – doesn’t work like that at wightlink – specific crews, specific boats, as each boat is configured differently and they cannot interchange at will
now who is the thicko
LOL, I am sure that they can be trained to work on more then one vessel,
airline pilots seem to manage……thicko x
They could use one of Yarmouth spare but that would be to easy
but Wightlink is a private company, operated purely to make money for it’s owners
there is no legal requirement for them to offer any service at all, as long as any service they do run is considered ‘safe’
so what would the basis be for issueing such a fine ?
yes, the share holders could be upset that the incedent and situation has reduced their profits, but apart from that, as long as they are not running an unsafe service, there is no recourse.
there made up bs excuses are getting more halar each time! youd KNOW if you actually HIT SOMETHING no mistaking lol
me thinks they realised it one already used from there pathetic book of bs and quickly changed the excuse
appawling sham of a service
People will vote with their feet. I was booked on the 5pm from Portsmouth and was moved to the 8pm sailing. I cancelled my booking last night and am travelling with Red Funnel, which even without a discount is cheaper.
and you have to pay a high price for this service. i haven’t been on Wightlink for years after i stopped working for them. crap company and crap service
Hurry up and build a bridge that’s wot we need
I never thought I would say this but as a true islander it is time we had a fixed link with the mainland
instead of private companies charging us just what they like to get across that stretch of water
fixed kink now don,t you agree bob sealy
or will you loose money in shares
Who is going to pay for it?
The island at the end of the day its like renting a house you pay every month but it’s not yours at the end well when you pay for the bridge you can you use it when ever you want it wont charge you stupid amount and it’s open 365 days a year.
Not sure when those living in the 1800s will get this, but the island will eventually run out of people willing to live here because of the rubbish transport options.
And lack of services/ houses / schools..
(… Waiting to hear who will be first to blame iMmIgrAnTs?)
This company is an utter joke and not fit for purpose!
With the billions they make in profit, you’d have thought they’d have employed qualified and experienced seamen.
Still waiting for someone to say “more bad driving on the Isl of Wight”.
Oh wait, I suppose I just did.
More idiots will be along soon
“Such a fine” would be awarded on the basis of a new contract which enforces a minimum level of service based on a duty of providing a reliable connection for Island residents.
Failing to provide a reserve vessel within a reasonable timeframe would mean a hard penalty.
2 infractions in one year would mean a warning. The third infraction would double the fine.
Right now I would not class it as a viable company able to provide adequate service to the Island if they do not have at least 4 vessels available for the Pompey – Fishbourne route.
That would put any contract, and possible incentives from Island tourist organisations up for review.
not sure which part you don’t seem to understand?
there is no ‘contract’ !
Wightlink is a private company, no one has contracted them to provide a service..!
“I would not class it as a viable company able to provide adequate service…”
there is no _requirement_ for them to provide an ‘adequate service’, or even any service at all!
the only thing they are legally obliged to do (apart from ensuring that any service they do provide is safe) is maximise the profit for their shareholders
Welcome to the result of Thatcherite Conservative policies of deregulation and privatisation of national industries / services.. basically y’all voted for it !
Can’t crash a fixed link…
Wightlink would probably crash into it before it opened.
I’m a mainlander and love the Isle of Wight for the very reason you have to use a boat to get to it. You have no idea how lucky you are to sit somewhat separately from the mainland. Part of the charm and appeal of the Isle of Wight is the ferry trip over to you. If you build a bridge or a tunnel, you just replace the issues you have with a ferry service to having issues with a fixed link service. You’d be paying an astronomical premium to even get it built and there’s no guarantee that to fund such a fixed link, it wouldn’t be privatised. Tolls and payments to use these big infrastructure projects is common on the mainland so what do you gain? If anything you loose what makes the Isle of Wight such an attractive place to live and visit.
David > “I’m a mainlander and love the Isle of Wight for the very reason you have to use a boat to get to it.”
Yes, ..
the Isle of Wight is a beautiful place,. but not quite so attractive to live on these days (overcrowding, crime, social decline, areas of massive depravation)
but obviously as a ‘mainlander’, you can view it through rose tinted glasses and not see the issue of being held to ransom by the likes of Wightlink, whose sole raison-d’etre is to make money (as much as possible) from those wishing to, or needing to use the service they provide.
While Wightlink and Red Funnel might not be perfect. They provide jobs that a fixed link would risk or destroy altogether, they provide tourism that would diminish given that the island would no longer be an island, putting you in even greater direct competition with tourist destinations already on the mainland.
Anyone who thinks that a fixed link would end the problems you face with reliability, cost and quality, is living in a dreamland and unaware that bridges and tunnels come with the same issues as any ferry service. Has no one used the channel tunnel or the toll bridges on the mainland? These things are constantly closed for maintenance, cost an astronomical amount, clogged up with traffic or closed due to adverse weather.
The channel tunnel is rarely closed at all,.. They do maintenance at night (closing one half & running a reduced service using the other half)
And often, a return trip on the Channel Tunnel is cheaper than Wightlink
You dont live here so keep your opinions to yourself
You say that – David and the rest of the mainland should also keep their money to themselves and let the Islanders pay for their fixed link on their own. After all, they don’t live there, do they.
You rude little girl !