Ferry disruption continues after breakdown at sea

Repair work is being carried out on Red Eagle to fix the issue with its aft main engine

Ferry passengers are continuing to face disruption as repair work is carried out to a vessel that broke down mid-crossing.

Red Funnel said its Red Eagle vehicle ferry, sailing between between East Cowes and Southampton, suffered a technical issue with its aft main engine on Wednesday afternoon.

It broke down on Southampton Water and needed assistance from a tug boat to make it to port in Southampton. Cancellations of some crossings have continued during Thursday as a result.

Services were also disrupted in April when the same vessel broke down at sea, having just returned to service.

Following Wednesday's breakdown, Red Funnel's operations director Neil Chapman said: "While everyone on board was safe, we know this caused a longer journey than our passengers expected, and we're truly sorry for that.

"Our technical teams have been working hard through the night to complete the repairs, and we're doing everything we can to get Red Eagle back into service as soon as possible."

The 13:30, 15:30 and18:30 BST services from East Cowes were cancelled, as well as the 14:00 17:00 and 20:15 sailings from Southampton.

It is the latest in a series of problems to affect Red Eagle, with Red Funnel extending its winter timetable due to its delayed return from its annual refit.

It then suffered a "technical issue" at sea on 5 April after it returned to service.