Wightlink has been forced to suspend its Fishbourne-Portsmouth car ferry service following a berthing collision earlier this morning (Tuesday).
It was shortly before 08:00 that the St Clare collided with the upper linkspan whilst docking at Portsmouth Gunwharf.
Due to the damage sustained to both the infrastructure and St Clare itself, it is not currently possible for vehicles or passengers to be unloaded. The situation comes slap bang in the middle of half term week.
Wightlink says that all sailings are cancelled until at least 15:20 from Gunwharf and 16:20 from Fishbourne, whilst engineers assess the situation and ensure it is safe to resume operations.
It is said that teams are working hard to find solutions to minimise disruption to customers.
A spokesperson has said:
“All other routes are operating as normal.
“We will provide further updates across all our channels as soon as more information is available. Please check our website for the latest travel information. If you have urgent travel plans, we strongly recommend making alternative arrangements where possible”.
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UPDATE @ 15:53 – Wightlink has now confirmed it will be running a 16:00 service from Portsmouth International Port (PIP) for passengers originally booked on the 16:20 sailing from Portsmouth to Fishbourne.
Both the 17:20 sailing from Portsmouth and the 18:20 sailing from Fishbourne remain cancelled.
Normal service is due to pick back up from the 17:20 sailing from Fishbourne and 18:20 sailing from Portsmouth.
UPDATE WEDNESDAY – Services have now returned to normal following overnight repairs.
That’s great then..ill just put my life on hold then.cancel everything.
I love the way they advertise themselves as “A reliable ferry service, that won’t let you down””!!! LOL
what with Red Funnel that can’t sail if it’s slightly foggy, (‘cos they hit other boats) & this sort of thing from Wightlink…
Plus the cost increases due to the ’emissions Trading Scheme’
perhaps it really is time to consider a bridge or tunnel
And where would the money come from?
The island is practically in Lockdown.
a 10% levy on all benefits & state pensions paid to isle of wight resisdents should be plenty (as that just about covers everyone who lives on the Isle of Wight, it seems appropriate)
(it’d surely raise a lot more that the island-wide parkine permits EiE keeps on about.)
But seriously…
A road tunnel would cost somewhere in the region of £6 billion
WL & RF have a joint annual income of ~ £200 million
so, if all cross-solent traffic used the tunnel (which would be inherrently more reliable) instead of ferries,.. payback would be ~ 30 years,.. which is pretty standard for infrastructure projects like that.
of course if we were still in Europe, there’d have been EU funding for some of it,.. but the Brexit brigate f**ked that for us
You are right about Brexit, the same uneducated
numpties vote Reform
What chance do we have.
Used to be able to stay in Europe longer until
these numpties voted Brexit!
They believed Bojo’s lies.
£350,000,000.00 a week ballsh*t
Should have gone to Specsavers
Slap bang in the middle of halt term! Wow what drama. The busiest day for he year then.
HALF term not HALT term.
[…] WIGHTLINK SUSPENDS ALL FISHBOURNE-PORTSMOUTH SAILINGS AFTER BOAT COLLISION […]
HOW???? The linkspan isn’t supposed to come down until docked and locked…
Obviously a Numpty has made an error.
What is going on today ! It’s hit or miss (pardon the pun) at the moment ! What is consistent is the increased unreliability!!!!!
Only been there last 20 years or so.
Living on an island has it’s ups and downs. Ferry disruption and slightly higher costs are most of it. However, a fixed link would undoubtedly bring all sorts of unpleasant activities such as are currently being experienced in towns and cities across the north. If anyone believes that an occasional inconvenience in the transport department is enough to warrant such a change then I would ask them to read Rupert Lowe’s report when it is published – and think again.
“Rupert Lowe”..???
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omg you’re so funny……
A fixed link would be great, just what the Doctor ordered.
Quack.