There have been several incidents involving its passage across the harbour entrance. On 29 August 1976 a sailing dinghy was driven into the side of the ferry by the outgoing tidal run following an engine failure. Although two of the occupants were pulled to safety the third occupant, a sixteen-year-old girl was pulled under the ferry by the current. She freed herself from the boat before become trapped under the ferry in an air pocket; her father – one of the dinghy crew – went back into the water and pulled her out. In 1986, a bus on the local Wilts and Dorset route from Bournemouth to Swanage ran away down the ramp into the sea. It had to be pinned to the ferry to prevent it drifting and becoming a hazard to navigation. There were no casualties in the incident. In 1996, one of the chains was broken by the
Barfleur, a ferry operated by
Brittany Ferries between Poole and
Cherbourg. On 6 May 2001, four XOD racing dinghies taking part in a race were pushed into the ferry by strong currents and an ebb tide. One of the boats was sucked under the ferry; two crew members were pulled from the water after attempting to climb on to the ferry but a 72-year-old woman went under with the boat and was rescued after resurfacing on the other side. On 16 June 2006, a yacht – the
Flying Monkey – sustained severe damage to its mast and sails after a collision with the ferry. Because of the tide, the crew were unable to avoid both the chain ferry and a Condor commercial ferry which were approaching. The two men on board were able to board the chain ferry and the yacht was disentangled. On 1 June 2007 a small motorboat collided with the ferry and was pinned to the side by the current, reportedly after having run out of fuel and drifting into its path. Its two occupants were safely rescued by the
RNLI. On 21 April 2009, a car rolled from the slipway, into the sea, while waiting for the ferry at the Sandbanks terminal. The car was not occupied at the time. On 25 May 2012, the RNLI rescued two individuals, one of whom was clinging to the outside of the ferry. Their small motorboat had suffered engine failure placing the occupants at risk of being pulled under the chain ferry. On 16 July 2014, the ferry was forced to stop crossing for two days as one of its chains was again broken by the
Barfleur which passed fast and close to the moored
Bramble Bush Bay at a very low tide. The resulting movement of the smaller vessel lifted the chain into the propellers and rudders of the
Barfleur, which were also slightly damaged. ==2019/20 service withdrawals==