There is significant travel disruption for those crossing the Solent with Red Funnel this morning (Thursday) with cancellations on both the vehicle ferry and hi-speed Red Jet services.
Yesterday, it was announced that a number of sailings between East Cowes and Southampton had been pulled due to an engine issue on board Red Eagle.
Now, a problem with Red Jet 7 has forced the cancellation of multiple hi-speed crossings to and from West Cowes.
The 06:05, 07:15 and 08:25 departures from Southampton have all been cancelled this morning, alongside the 06:40, 07:50 and 09:00 sailings from the Isle of Wight.
It is in order to facilitate essential repairs to Red Jet 7.
On the vehicle ferry, the 05:00, 08:00 and 11:00 timetabled sailings from Southampton have been cancelled, alongside the 06:30, 09:30 and 12:30 sailings from East Cowes.
Neil Chapman, Operations Director at Red Funnel, said:
“On 23rd July, Red Eagle experienced a technical fault on her aft main engine, which unfortunately meant requiring the assistance of a tugboat to continue the journey into Southampton. While everyone on board was safe, we know this caused a longer journey than our passengers expected, and we’re truly sorry for that. We want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we managed this rare situation.
Article continues below this advertisement “Our technical teams have been working hard through the night to complete the repairs, and we’re doing everything we can to get Red Eagle back into service as soon as possible. In the meantime, we’ve contacted all affected customers with details about their new crossing time. In the meantime, we continue to appreciate our customers’ continued patience as we work hard to put things right and carry on our passenger vehicle service with Red Osprey and Red Falcon.”
UPDATE @ 12:45 – The 14:00 & 17:00 from Southampton and the 15:30 and 18:30 from Cowes have been cancelled.
UPDATE @ 16:00 – The 20:15 from Southampton and 21:45 from Cowes have also been cancelled.
This is beyond a joke, something urgently needs to be done about this.
Hopefully all the anti fixed link people have been affected. Oh probably not, as they never leave the island
Fixed link? Bring the third world over here quicker.
Typical backward islander comment
Please you must give this up there will never ever never be a fixed link to this old broken worn out island..The ferries are shit yes i agree but i’ts the only form of travel we will ever have ..
Absolutely correct, there will never be a fixed link, this is not a major issue for the bulk of Britain, we are becoming an ” old broken out ISLAND. ” We are not of economic importance, there is no serious money on the Island or public interest in a fixed link. I do sympathise with those of us ( the majority ) on the Island who want and require a far better transport system, the present suppliers of transport across the Solent are destroying the Island and sucking the life out of it at an alarming rate,
I am afraid this government and those yet to come have far bigger issues than the IOW, We are not an economic asset to the rest of the Country.
Sad but true.
We are part of England, so we have access to the hundreds of billions available for infrastructure projects. Once the government realises the income from the toll revenues, they will jump at the chance to build it. Especially when the ferry companies don’t pay any uk tax
No one is ever going to invest the money needed for a fixed link. It would not be viable.
Pretty obvious why Island tourism is in the clag. Note the rapid response of HM Gov…
The turd company that keeps taking but never gives..please someone take this shite company over ..
Don’t worry, Red Funnel will still post a high reliability rating because ones they cancel don’t count towards the %. Disgrace of an organisation and something needs to be done.
Perhaps boycotting Red Funnel would make them sit up and take notice. Personally, Ihave always found the Wight Link routes more efficient and reliable. We are fortunate in West Wight where the Yarmouth to Lymington route has great reliability rate and the staff at both ports and on board the ferries are always cheerful and helpful in my experience.
The school hoidays are upon us, the Island needs to make the most of the summer months as it has an economy significantly based on tourism and one of the two ferry companies still can’t get their act together. Red Funnel are a joke – a very expensive joke both for those paying extortionate fares and the businesses who are relying on them to bring their customers to the Island.