CONDOR Ferries was forced to cancel its sailings to the Channel Islands on its new vessel yesterday due to strong winds.

The Liberation was out of action with the firm stating the inclement weather conditions expected were outside of the operating limits for berthing in the Channel Islands.

The restrictions applied only to the new ferry and the Rapide service continued to operate as normal.

The Condor Liberation was out of service for a week last month after striking the quayside at St Peter Port in Guernsey in windy conditions just two days after its first voyage.

The new ferry was also disrupted earlier this month due to an engine fault.

Earlier this week the company issued an apology to its customers for the failings at the beginning of the state-of-the-art ferry's service.

Condor left Weymouth earlier this year as it was unable to provide a berth suitable for the new £50million high speed ferry.