An Isle of Wight resident who has been seeking clarity on who decides whether passengers are able to remain in their vehicles on cross-Solent ferries says he’s hit a brick wall.
Mike (not his real name) is very concerned about people sharing public spaces on ferry crossings and has written to the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Scientific Officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, as well as the Isle of Wight Lord-Lieutenant, Susie Sheldon and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
He told News OnTheWight,
“Covid-19 cases are on the rise on the Island yet I believe the ferry companies actions put people in very close contact with each other and do not afford the space necessary for social distancing.
“It’s my view that their actions, I fear, will exacerbate the pandemic for the Island.”
News OnTheWight went to the Isle of Wight ferry companies, Wightlink and Red Funnel for their reaction. They strongly refuted it and replied in detail below.
MCA: Much safer for passengers to exit their cars
Mike’s email to the MCA last month to ask who made the decision to “force passengers out of their cars” on the cross Solent Ferries, elicited this response:
“As I’m sure you are aware, vehicle decks on ships are designed as cargo spaces, and do not meet the required standards to ensure the safety of passengers in the event of an emergency. Once a ferry is loaded up and under way, the vehicle decks are not an appropriate place for people to remain in their vehicles or to move around in (should they want to reach the toilets for example). It is much safer for passengers to exit their cars as soon as they are loaded and travel in the passenger lounges designed for this.
“Therefore passengers on Isle of Wight ferries (or indeed any others) are not allowed to remain in their vehicles once the ferries depart port. This has been the position for many years, and nobody has been ‘forcing passengers out of their cars’.”
Very strictly controlled safety conditions
The spokesperson from the MCA went on to add,
“During the height of lockdown in the spring there were some ferry crossings where, under very strictly controlled safety conditions, small numbers of passengers were permitted to remain in their cars. At this time, though, the general public were required to self-isolate and strongly discouraged from using public transport unless absolutely essential.
“Since then, however, the restrictions on public transport have been relaxed. At the present time, so long as people follow the government advice to wear masks, comply with social distancing requirements, wash hands regularly, and use the hand spray gels available on the ferries, then travel on a ferry is at least as safe from Covid-19 as any other form of public transport.”
MCA continuously monitoring the situation
They went on to add,
“The MCA believes that it is safer for passengers to travel in the passenger areas – which are also the muster stations in the event of an emergency – rather than stay in their cars on a ferry’s cargo deck.
“The Prime Minister has announced further measures to protect the public around the UK, but has not changed the advice regarding public transport, so the present arrangements continue to provide the best balance for ensuring safety of passengers.
“The MCA though is continuously monitoring the situation, and should the risk balance and or transport priorities change please be confident that we will work with the ferry companies to ensure the appropriate measures are in place for passenger safety.”
Wightlink: Plenty of room for social distancing
In response to Mike’s view that the ferry companies’ actions could exacerbate the pandemic for the Island a spokesperson for Wightlink told News OnTheWight,
“All Wightlink vessels are spacious and have plenty of room for customers to spread out and maintain social distancing. Passengers can also travel on the outside decks.
“Ships are thoroughly cleaned after every crossing and cafe staff are serving behind screens. Customers are required to wear face covering unless exempt.
“We encourage customers to find out more about how we are keeping them safe via our Website and we ask people not to cross the Solent for a Covid-19 test.”
They went on to add,
“Wightlink has a system to support passengers who are travelling to the mainland for NHS appointments and cannot leave their vehicle if they need to self-isolate.
“Details can be found on the Website on the Accessible Travel and Blue Badge discounts page.”
Red Funnel: “Our ferries are safe”
A spokesperson for Red Funnel told News OnTheWight,
“Throughout the course of the Covid-19 pandemic we have aligned our operations and procedures with the latest government advice, and our ‘remain in vehicle’ crossings were temporarily implemented as an exceptional measure during lockdown.
“We worked with the MCA to agree a set of complex mitigating actions that permitted us to run some crossings on which all passengers had to remain in their vehicles.
“However, with traffic volumes greater than what we carried during lockdown, it is no longer possible for Red Funnel to operate all sailings in this capacity due to the volume of vehicles and freight that we are required to carry throughout the day.
“In alignment with the government’s end to shielding advice effective 31st July, we returned to our normal mode of operation from 1st August.”
They added,
“Whilst we contend that our ferries are safe and that passengers should feel safe and at ease about joining us on the passenger decks, we appreciate that some passengers may be in a more vulnerable situation and have cause to ask us for an exception to remain in their vehicle.
“We have a dedicated process with staff in place to help review and facilitate these requests and can allow a limited number of passengers to remain on the vehicle deck, on select crossings, where there is no hazardous freight on board. We ask that anyone who needs our assistance to stay in their vehicles gets in touch with us to make arrangements ahead of travelling, ideally at least 48 hours before their crossing, for more information visit the Website.
“We have cleared a selection of daily crossings exclusively for the purpose of being able to offer a clear, reliable timetable of sailings where remain-in-vehicle arrangements can be made for vulnerable passengers.
“These sailing times are as follows:
From East Cowes to Southampton:
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday: 08:30*/ 11:30 / 16:30
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 09:00 / 12:00 / 16:30
*No 08:30 on Saturdays.From Southampton to East Cowes:
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday: 10:00 / 12:00 / 16:00
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10:30 / 12:00 / 16:30
Red Funnel: Worked extremely hard to ensure ferries are clean and safe
From the beginning of August, once shielding restrictions came to an end, passengers were no longer required to remain in their vehicles.
The spokesperson for Red Funnel went on to say,
“Since May, we have facilitated nearly 1,000 requests for passengers to remain in their vehicles and we routinely receive compliments thanking us for our service and support. We know that customers travelling for medical treatment can often feel anxious and stressed and we take great care to offer a caring and personal assistance.
“We have worked extremely hard to ensure our ferries are clean and safe – ensuring that all high-touch surface areas including tables, counters, arm rests, railings and toilets are sanitised between crossings. Hand sanitiser is widely available throughout the vessel and hand washing facilities are regularly checked and restocked. Safety and social distancing signage is prominent, including strong reminders to wear a face covering when inside our vessels.
“Our staff wear protective PPE and routinely remind passengers about the law to wear face coverings for the duration of the crossing. In alignment with the face coverings law, we have also taken the decision to disallow food and beverage consumption (unless for medical reasons) within the interior of the passenger areas. In addition, we have reduced passenger capacity to allow for greater social distancing. At present, our vehicle ferries are capped at a maximum of 350 passengers (39% capacity) instead of the usual 892.”
Image: united nations under CC BY 2.0
