Ferry repairs cause cancellations

Monday 15 December 2014

Hundreds of passengers had a weekend of travel misery after a problem with the Commodore Clipper put it out of action for 48 hours.

Condor were forced to cancel sailings by the Clipper on Saturday and Sunday because of a problem with a part on one of the ship’s rudders, but say they expect it to be back in action today.

The company say that 198 passengers were meant to be on the boat on Saturday, and 141 were meant to be sailing yesterday.

Bad weather also forced some cancellations last week, so there may be some implications for retailers waiting for extra stock for the last rush of Christmas shopping, because of freight disruption.

They also say that they have been putting up passengers in overnight accommodation and supplying them with food while engineers have been working around the clock to fix the ship.

Fran Collins, executive director – operations at Condor Ferries, said: “Our engineers have been working tirelessly through the night but the cold temperatures have slowed their progress.

“We are optimistic that Clipper will be ready to sail by early Monday morning and we’re continuing to provide passengers who have been significantly delayed yesterday and today with overnight accommodation and food, in accordance with the EU Passenger Directive.

“Our priority is to keep our Islands connected and supplied and whilst freight supplies continue on Commodore Goodwill, we are keeping all of our freight customers updated regularly.”