Wightlink have confirmed that their Yarmouth to Lymington ferries will not operate if wind speeds hit 25 knots – which converts to just 28mph.
As a result of the latest engine failure on board Wight Sky, a revised set of operating procedures have been approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Engine speeds have been reduced and ships will not sail if winds are higher than 20 knots constant or gusting at 25 knots.
Wightlink has acknowledged that this will result in more cancellations and disruption for customers during high winds, but they say safety must take priority.
The cross-Solent operator has today (Monday) pledged to resolve the engine issues on its Yarmouth-Lymington fleet that have caused significant delays and disruption to customers over the past 16 months.
A major engine failure and fire on board Wight Sky on Friday morning resulted in the ferry being taken out of service pending investigations by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and Wightlink’s engineers. It was the third failure of an engine resulting in a fire on Wight Sky over the last 16 months. The fire was extinguished instantly by the ship’s fire suppression system and no-one was hurt.
This particular Volvo Penta engine was ‘brand new’ and had been installed by the manufacturer’s agent at the ship’s 2018 autumn refit. It had only been operational for 390 hours when it failed. Volvo Penta will carry out technical investigations on Wight Sky this week.
The Lymington-Yarmouth service resumed on Sunday afternoon, albeit with a 1-boat service due to a technical issue with another one of the Yarmouth ferries.
Wightlink Chief Executive Keith Greenfield has today (Monday) said:
“I apologise that Islanders have yet again had to put up with major disruption on our Lymington to Yarmouth route this weekend. We are working incredibly hard to restore full service and working with MAIB and Volvo Penta engineers to find the root cause and a permanent solution to this series of engine failures.
“Most of the recent disruption on this route has in some way been linked to poor engine reliability and associated wind restrictions. The last two major failures have involved engines still under warranty. We do not experience any significant engine issues on our other routes and our customers should not have to put up with this on the Lymington-Yarmouth service.
“Every effort is being made to find a root cause and permanent solution so that we can provide our customers with the reliable service they deserve and that Wightlink colleagues work so hard to deliver. There will be a solution and it will be found.”
UPDATE @ 12:27 – A spokesperson for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have told Island Echo:
“Yesterday (16 December) the Wightlink Lymington to Yarmouth service returned to normal just after 1pm.
“No restrictions apply to the service when all 4 engines are available on the vessels. However Wightlink proposed some restrictions in cases where they have reduced engine availability, thus prioritising passenger and environmental safety.
“These self-imposed restrictions were accepted by the MCA and were not imposed on Wightlink.
“The MCA has not grounded or detained any Wightlink vessels”.
