PASSENGERS on board the Isle of Wight Red Funnel car ferry have been left stranded onboard the vessel in East Cowes this morning (Tuesday, February 14), unable to move due to dense fog.
UPDATE 10am: Passengers were allowed to leave the ferry if they wanted at 8.30am, with vehicles allowed to return to East Cowes around ten minutes later. The vessel finally left the Island at 9.40am.
The 7.30am crossing from East Cowes has remained docked after allowing commuters to come onto the ferry but has yet to leave.
Read more:
- LATEST: Red Funnel vehicle ferry back up and running but with lengthy delays due to fog
- Red Jet 4 returns to service TODAY... but immediately suffers technical error
Due to dense fog in the Solent, we are experiencing significant disruption to our Vehicle Ferry timetable this morning which we expect to impact sailing throughout the day. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
— RF Service News (@RF_Travel_News) February 14, 2023
Passengers have been told that the ferry cannot move until the fog has cleared.
Meanwhile, the Red Jet service has seen cancellations and delays of around 15-20 minutes this morning due to a mix of technical errors and weather conditions.
Leanna Lakes, operations director at Red Funnel, said: “Due to the reduced visibility this morning, we were required to delay the 7.30am East Cowes departure which unfortunately caused delays to our services.
"The safety of our passengers and teams is always our priority and we must adhere to General Directions for Cowes Harbour which promote safe navigation.
“We advise anyone travelling today to check the service status on the Red Funnel website where updated departure and arrival times are available.
"We do appreciate that this will disrupt people’s plans for today and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
House Rules
We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.
Read the rules here