RED Jet sailings this evening have been cancelled - and cross-Solent passengers will face more disruption tomorrow.

Red Jet 7 has been taken out of service again after a repetition of an issue involving its port outer main engine.

It comes less than a week after the vessel was withdrawn from service because of a mechanical problem.

The high-speed catamaran, which operates between Southampton and West Cowes, stopped sailing on October 13, resulting in days of disruption for passengers.

In a statement issued this evening Red Funnel said: "Following a series of repairs and trials within the last 24 hours, Red Jet 7 has re-experienced a low fuel pressure alert on the port outer main engine.

"This has required us to temporarily remove the vessel from service.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our number one priority and the 17:35 and 18:55 services from West Cowes, and 18:15 service from Southampton have been cancelled.

“We have reviewed the repairs required on Red Jet 7 and works are due to continue until tomorrow morning.

"The 06:15, 07:35 and 08:55 services from Southampton and the 06:55, 08:15 and 09:35 services from West Cowes have been cancelled to enable essential repairs to be made.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this will cause to some of our passengers.

“Our engineers are working hard to get Red Jet 7 back in service as quickly as possible. We encourage customers to consider using our vehicle ferry service as an alternative option, which is currently running to timetable.”