RED Funnel has cancelled many of today’s crossings to the Isle of Wight after its car ferry Red Eagle was taken out of service.

The company said it had discovered damage to a propeller after an accident last week in which the vessel lost one of her two anchors.

The services from Southampton to East Cowes that are cancelled today were due to depart at 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8.15pm.

Also cancelled are the East Cowes to Southampton departures for 6.30am, 9.30am, 12.30pm, 3.30pm, 6.30pm and 9.45pm.

Affected customers were being contacted.

A Red Funnel Spokesperson said: “Following the incident on October 2 where Red Eagle lost one of her two anchors, an internal inspection has now revealed additional damage to the internal gear linkages inside the vessel’s Aft Voith propeller. The extent of the damage requires us to remove Red Eagle from service at this time.”

The company added: “Our team is reviewing plans for a revised vehicle ferry timetable from Saturday, October 12, and will issue another update once we have more information. Our technical team is establishing an ETA (estimated time of arrival) to acquire replacement parts and repair Red Eagle, and we will communicate that expected timeline as soon as possible.

“We are truly sorry for the inconvenience this unexpected situation has caused for customers travelling with us today, and we wish to thank everyone for their patience. Safety continues to be our top priority and our teams on the ground are working very hard to support our customers with alternative travel options.”

Passengers were being urged to visit redfunnel.co.uk/service, follow @RF_Travel_News on Twitter or ensure they were signed up to receive text alerts.