STRANDED ON SCILLY
Tourists can’t leave as only ferry is out of action – while its owners f ly in more visitors
HUNDREDS of visitors have been stranded on the Scilly Isles for several days after the only passenger ferry to the islands broke down.
The crisis began to unfold last Wednesday morning when two engines on the vessel Scillonian III started to fail and it was forced to return to the mainland.
The ferry is the only means for tourists to access the islands, which lie 28 miles off Land’s End, via a sea crossing. The only other way to reach them is on scheduled flights on eight- and 17-seater planes, which run 15 times a day.
Yesterday there was growing anger among holidaymakers, who had been left stranded, claiming that they were being kept in the dark by the ferry operator, Isles of Scilly Travel.
The company, which also runs the passenger flights, has continued to fly in new visitors despite growing pressure on hotel rooms.
Nurse Barbara Hunt, 54, who had travelled to the island of St Mary’s with her sister, brother-in-law and niece, 12, was due to leave last Thursday.
But she has since been forced to pay out an extra £1,500 to cover the group’s extended stay.
Mrs Hunt said: ‘This is a crisis and it’s stupendously irresponsible that new people are being brought in when more than 1,000 people can’t get off these islands.
‘I’m having to pay out an extortionate amount of money. There is a lot of anger and anxiety.’
The stricken Scillonian III has a passenger capacity of 485 and usually completes a return trip once a day between Penzance in Cornwall and St Mary’s.
A number of those stranded visitors said that they had been unable to get in touch with Isles of Scilly Travel, with one woman claiming that the company had at one point ‘switched off their phones’.
One disgruntled woman, who took to Twitter to vent her frustrations, said: ‘We have to check out by 10am on St Mary’s. We have three small children and I’m pregnant, so where do you suggest we go?’
Another holidaymaker wrote: ‘After trying to contact your offices over 30 times this morning we have not received any information regarding our return to Penzance.
‘We are travelling with two small children with three older children waiting at home.’
Another passenger added: ‘We were supposed to travel yesterday.
‘My mum has multiple sclerosis and my brother is autistic, so would appreciate contact as the lack of plans is causing them distress.’
A spokesman for Isles of Scilly Travel said it was ‘committed’ to contacting all passengers ‘to support them with their enquiries and alternative travel options’.
About 700 extra passengers and ‘numerous dogs’ who had been due to sail had been transported off the islands by plane, he added.
The firm hopes that the ferry will return to service today.
‘This is a crisis... there’s a lot of anger and anxiety’