Isle of Wight ferries to Portsmouth stuck on reduced service due to with engine "mechanical issue" on ships

A charter vessel has had to replace Wightlink’s Ryder ships, with the firm operating a reduced service through a revised timetable. There will be no ferries running at certain times between Ryde and Southsea.

An alert published on the company’s website said: “We are very sorry, due to a mechanical issue with the engines on board our Wight Ryders, we will be operating a revised timetable from Sunday, May 4, up to and including Tuesday, May 6, with all sailings operated by a charter vessel. The Charter Vessel will be running a shuttle service each day, starting from Ryde Pier head at 7.45am on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and 5.45am on Tuesday.

“There will be no sailings between 2pm and 3pm. This service will run until 5.15pm from Portsmouth each day after which the route will be suspended until the following morning. We are expecting our own Vessel to return to service on Tuesday evening.”

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Passengers will have their tickets accepted on Hovertravel hovercraft services to Southsea, and Wightlink’s car ferry service to Fishbourne. “We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make this change, which we know will cause some changes to your travel plans,” the company added.

“This schedule adjustment is essential to make the repairs on the Wight Ryders and make sure the FastCat continues to uphold the high standard of service you rely on. If you have any questions or concerns, our team is happy to help – just give us a call on 0333 999 7333 (9am–6pm Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm weekends).

“Again, we apologise sincerely for any changes to your travel plans and thank you for your understanding and support during this time.”