On 26 March 1997, when the 300-ft
container vessel hit rocks off the south coast of the Isles of Scilly, the crew of the stricken vessel were rescued by
St Mary's Lifeboat with the support of a
helicopter from
RNAS Culdrose. They returned to the UK mainland on board
Scillonian III later that afternoon. As air traffic to Scilly was suspended for the day due to poor visibility on the mainland, the government authorities chartered the
Scillonian III to make a night sailing from Penzance to bring officials, shipwreck specialists and police reinforcements to St Mary's. On 12 August 2002,
Scillonian III could not sail because of a technical fault, leaving hundreds of tourists temporarily stranded on St Mary's. The ferry had to remain docked in Penzance while engineers worked on the fault. Travellers booked in for the sailing were advised to make alternative arrangements; however
British International and
Skybus services struggled to cope with the massive extra demand for seats, the problem made worse by one of British International's two helicopters being grounded. Cancellation of
Scillonian IIIs sailing mainly affected day trip passengers to Scilly and visitors staying in
guesthouses, as in many cases they could not be re-accommodated in the same guesthouse. Freight services to St Mary's were also disrupted by the cancellation, so
Gry Maritha had to make a rescheduled Monday night sailing to deliver fruit and vegetables to the Isles of Scilly. On 17 June 2010, a
Scilly shrew made headlines on
BBC Cornwall when it
stowed away from the Isles of Scilly on
Scillonian III. The small mammal was discovered in a corner of the Upper Deck as the ferry was about to arrive in Penzance and staff were clearing the area near the gangway. Paul Semmens, the
Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust's onboard marine guide, identified the animal as a shrew about two months old and looked after it for the night. The next day, the shrew was flown back from Penzance to Scilly on a
Skybus plane and released back into its natural environment. Managers at the
Isles of Scilly Steamship Company said they thought it could have been the smallest passenger ever to travel on
Scillonian III and the Skybus. On 21 April 2011,
Scillonian III was issued with her new certificate by the
Maritime & Coastguard Agency so her carrying capacity of 600 passengers could be reinstated. This came in time for the start of the summer season on the Isles of Scilly and the
World Pilot Gig Championships. On 2 May, the cancellation of a
Scillonian III sailing on the
bank holiday after the
World Pilot Gig Championships weekend left visitors stranded on St Mary's. Two sailings were scheduled that day to take
gig rowers home.
Scillonian III departed for the first sailing as planned, but with weather conditions worsening in the strong
Easterlies and waves crashing onto the pier in Penzance it became unsafe to
berth and she had to spend three hours circling in
Mount's Bay, waiting until
high tide with 450 passengers on board. When the second sailing was then cancelled, council staff opened up emergency accommodation at their Carn Thomas offices and
Town Hall to provide shelter for visitors stranded on St Mary's. On 29 June, a passenger had to be
airlifted from
Scillonian III by a rescue
helicopter from
RNAS Culdrose after complaining about severe chest pains. The day trip visitor had become unwell around 30 minutes out of Penzance, so a doctor travelling on board asked for the helicopter. The ferry retreated to a more sheltered part of the coast, near
Mousehole, so the patient could be winched up without having to cope with the strong winds. On 24 May 2013,
Scillonian III ran
aground in St Mary's Harbour after being caught by a gust of wind, while attempting to
berth by normal approach at
low tide. The captain was intending to retreat and wait for the tide to rise when wind blew her shoreward and she made contact with the bottom, stranding 203 passengers for more than an hour. Two
moorings were lost as a result and a smaller boat received superficial damage, but nobody was hurt and a later inspection by divers revealed that there was no damage to the
Scillonian III. She left as scheduled at 4.30pm that afternoon. On 28 August 2019,
Scillonian III had to return to Penzance after she suffered a technical fault mid-crossing which caused the ship to be out of service for four days, leading to significant travel disruption between the islands and mainland. The mechanical issue related to a pump serving both engines' hydraulics and lubrication systems. Engineering teams in Penzance undertook a complex strip down and rebuild process to access and carry out repairs, complicated and further delayed when one of the replacement parts delivered was found to have a hairline fracture and had to be reordered. The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company sought to relieve the situation by using its Skybus service. A total of 52 additional Skybus flights were put on between 28 August and Sunday 1 September, moving approximately 1,100 passengers due to have sailed. However, air capacity was insufficient to move all affected passengers and several hundred people remained on the islands awaiting the resumption of the ferry service. The story of 'stranded passengers' attracted local and national news coverage. The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company issued a statement praising residents and businesses on the islands and its own team members, "for the way they have pulled together in what have been unprecedented circumstances to deal with the issue, support passengers and ensure no one on the islands has been left without proper accommodation."
Scillonian III returned to service on 1 September and completed a double sailing on 2 September, clearing the backlog of affected passengers. Normal scheduled sailings resumed on 3 September. == Replacement ==