Condor Ferries blames delays on faulty pump

Mr Fulford said the fault had lead to ferries running 10 knots slower than normal

A faulty pump has been blamed for delays to fast ferries to and from the Channel Islands.

Condor Ferries chief executive James Fulford said nine lube oil pumps had gone wrong in the past 10 weeks.

He said all of the four engines on the firm's three fast ferries had one, but they had nearly finished replacing them all with pumps of their own design.

Mr Fulford said they were talking to their supplier about compensation and had not ruled out taking legal action.

He said he was "deeply disappointed" by the situation and the impact it had on passengers.

Mr Fulford said it had caused the ferries to run slowly, such as the Condor Rapide on the St Malo route over the weekend - which ran at 25 knots rather than the usual 35 knots.

He said the company had already spent £10m on servicing its three high speed ferries this year.

The company has rescheduled its sailings between the islands and St Malo on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday because of problems with the gear box in one of Condor Rapide's engines, which means it can only operate on three engines.