St-Clare

The 'St. Clare' allided with the Gunwharf terminal in Portsmouth, UK, during a berthing manoevre on the morning of Feb 17. 2026, at 08:00 a.m. GMT. The ferry, coming in stern first, hit the wooden fenders, smashed the ramp, and the timber fender fell into the water. There was damage both to the ship's prow andthe port infrastructure. The wooden berth was covered in scrapes with one of the timbers apparently missing. The passengers disembarked the top deck because they had another ramp, and then the damaged ramp had to be supported. The ferry reversed and turned around. The vehicles had to reverse off the ferry too as a consquence. Several services on the Gunwharf–Fishbourne route have been cancelled on the afternoon until at least 3:20 p.m. from Gunwharf and 4:20 p.m. from Fishbourne while the situation was assessed. No alternative sailings were offered on the route, while teams were trying to find solutions that minimised disruption for customers. All other routes were operating as normal. After carrying out overnight repairs, the 'St. Clare' could return to its normal services again on Feb 18.

The 'St. Clare' remained sidelined in Portsmouth because of the ongoing technical problem as of Feb 21. Both of the ferry's engines have developed faults which were believed to be linked.. The operator Wightlink had to cancel all of the scheduled sailings on Feb 21 and have informed customers. The "St Faith' was operating a shuttle service and was fully booked. Travel plans for customers were disrupted, and they were asked to cancel or amend bookings online, full refunds were given free-of-charge. Engineers were working to fix the problem. Extra sailings were run between Lymington and Yarmouth overnight. Customers who had booked on the 'St Clare' and had their sailing cancelled can travel on the FastCat free-of-charge.

Isle of Wight ferry provider Wightlink was running with two-hour delays on its Fishbourne to Portsmouth route on the afternoon of Feb 20, 2025, and passengers were facing significant delays due to a mechanical fault aboard the 'St. Clare', which was sidelined in Portsmouth for repairs. As a result, the 'St Faith', the oldest ferry in the fleet, was operating the route alone. The 2 p.m. sailing from Portsmouth has been cancelled, and affected passengers were contacted directly by Wightlink to make alternative arrangements. Wightlink’s ferry 'Victoria of Wight', which has recently completed its maintenance at the Isle of Portland dock, is currently not in service.

The St.Clare' suffered a technical issue and had to cancel a number of sailings on the Fishbourne-Portsmouth route from Sep 6-8, 2023. The 8 p.m. sailing from Portsmouth Gunwharf and the 9 p.m. return from Fishbourne have been pulled.