The Hovertravel service has been suspended this morning (Sunday) following a major fault on the Freedom 90 craft whilst in service last night.
A spokesperson for Hovertravel told OnTheWight,
“Hovertravel can confirm that our craft Freedom 90, whilst operating the 2145 Ryde to Southsea service yesterday evening, experienced a major fault with the port propellor.
“The craft immediately returned to Ryde, where all passengers and crew disembarked safely. There are no reported injuries.
“As per our standard safety procedures, we are currently conducting a stop and review investigation with both craft grounded.
“Consequently all Hovertravel services are cancelled until 1315 today, with a further update on our service status to be issued at 12 noon.”
Shaft broke in 2011
A similar fault occurred with the Solent Express back in 2011. Almost one year ago to the day, Freedom 90 experienced a “a fuel pump failure” mid-crossing.
Updates
Update 12.13pm
Hovertravel say,
“Our service is currently suspended until 18:15 due to technical reasons on our craft. A further update will be issued at 17:00
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Update 13.19
A Hovertravel spokesperson said,
“An initial investigation into the propellor damage on Freedom 90 indicates that a foreign object caused the propellor blades to break. The MCA has praised the actions of the pilot and crew onboard, as well as the stop and review procedures conducted immediately by Hovertravel.
“Safety of passengers and staff is the number one priority for Hovertravel so Hovertravel’s engineering team and the MCA are carrying out further checks on Island Express.
“Hovertravel’s service is to remain suspended until 18:15 this evening with the next update to be issued at 17:00.
“Hovertravel apologises for the inconvenience the current suspension may cause to our customers and asks for their patience whilst we conduct our stringent safety checks on Island Express.”
Update 15.47
A spokesperson from Hovertravel said,
“Hovertravel Services are back in normal operation, Hovertravel wishes to apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Article edits – A number of updates added along with amendments to the excerpt text advising new times.
