Wightlink are in the process of contacting customers about a number of cancellations on the Fishbourne to Portsmouth service tomorrow (Thursday 12th March) due to extreme wind conditions on the Solent.
The ferry company say that St Clare is operating on three out of four engines and must follow strict operating limits due to an issue with one of its propellers.
This means she cannot sail in very strong winds, and tomorrow’s wind conditions are too high for her to operate safely. Repairs for this issue are planned for the next few weeks in a dry dock facility, which is being arranged. Affected customers have been moved to alternative sailings where possible.
Awaiting sign off
Victoria of Wight has now returned from refit but is unable to re-enter service until she completes her final Maritime and Coastguard Agency checks and is formally cleared to sail.
To help maintain capacity, Wightlink are operating additional sailings on their Yarmouth to Lymington route.
Working through customer bookings
In customer comms they’re letting passengers know about the issue and whether their booking has been moved, provided guidance on amending or cancelling bookings and offered additional support.
Wightlink say it will take a few more hours to contact all customers and they’ll post on the WhatsApp service update channel once all customers have been contacted.
