PASSENGERS on board Red Funnel’s Red Jet 7 this afternoon (Tuesday) suffered delays in The Solent following a low fuel pressure alert on the port outer main engine.

Tugs escorted the vessel back to Southampton, where it arrived at 13.54pm, carrying 54 passengers.

The vessel, Red Jet 7, only returned to service yesterday morning (Monday) after lengthy repairs that saw a host of sailings cancelled whilst it was out of service.

The 13.35pm from Southampton and the 14.15pm from Cowes have been cancelled.

Scroll down for latest Red Funnel update.

There is a possibility that other crossings may also be cancelled, to allow for repairs to be carried out on Red Jet 7.

A spokesperson from Red Funnel said: “This afternoon, Red Jet 7 experienced a low fuel pressure alert on the port outer main engine during the 12.15 sailing from Southampton to West Cowes.

“This required us to immediately remove the vessel from service, returning it to Southampton for urgent repair.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our number one priority and at this time.

“We will issue another update along with further updates to our live service status as soon as we have more information.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this will cause to some of our passengers.

“We encourage customers to consider using our vehicle ferry service as an alternative option, which is currently running to timetable.”

Live service status information is available on the Red Funnel website.

 

UPDATE: The 16:55 & 18:15 from Southampton and 17:35 & 18:55 from Cowes have also now been cancelled.

A Red Funnel spokesperson said: “Following an assessment by our engineers, our team is working to repair Red Jet 7 following a low fuel pressure alert on the port outer main engine.

"The 16:55 and 18:15 services from Southampton and the 17:35 and 18:55 services from West Cowes have been cancelled to allow essential repairs to be made.

“Our engineers are working hard to get Red Jet 7 back in service as quickly as possible. 

"We encourage customers to consider using our vehicle ferry service as an alternative option, which is currently running to timetable.”