Isle of Wight ferry passengers stranded onboard due to fault

UPDATE: After almost an hour stuck in Southampton the ferry provider confirmed its vehicle ferry service had been suspended 'until further notice' (see the latest below).

Ten minutes later, Red Funnel announced the vehicle ferry is back in operation with lengthy delays.

Passengers are stuck onboard Red Eagle – the 9.30am crossing from East Cowes – waiting for Red Falcon – the 10am Southampton sailing – to leave port.

Initially, Red Eagle passengers were alerted to delays over the vessel’s Tannoy system, with a staff member explaining that he did not know “for the life of me” how long they would be stuck.

Red Funnel passengers onboard Red Eagle heading towards Southampton earlier (Image: IWCP)

Read more: LIVE ferry updates after Red Funnel technical issue and passenger delays

Ferry customers remained stranded on the vessel, to the side of the Southampton berth, watching as Red Falcon began loading vehicles.

The vessel remains stuck an hour after it was expected to berth, with Red Falcon still unable to depart from Southampton.

It is understood that there has been a linkspan issue, and engineers are on-site attempting to 'weld something together', a witness has said.

Despite significant delays, Red Funnel is yet to announce any disruption on its social media accounts, app or text alerts.

LATEST:

After an hour and a half wait, Red Eagle passengers from East Cowes are now coming into berth at Southampton.

Red Eagle arriving in Southampton (Image: IWCP) The County Press has approached Red Funnel for a statement.