Wightlink has rejected calls to install sophisticated data recorders aboard controversial new ferries on a cross-Solent route.

The company was asked to fit the devices amid claims that the ferries’ powerful wash was a potential hazard to smaller craft on the Lymington River.

Lymington Harbour Commissioners called for the vessels to be fitted with equipment similar to the black box flight recorders used on aircraft.

They said the devices would automatically monitor engine and thruster settings, providing vital evidence in the event of an incident.

But people attending the latest meeting of the organisation heard that the company was refusing to install them on the grounds that it would cost a total of £180,000.

The commissioners called for cheaper tachograph-style devices to be installed instead.

However, a Wightlink spokeswoman told the Daily Echo that both options had been ruled out. She said: “Voyage data recorders are cost-prohibitive and the other recording method suggested is not technically possible.”

The three new ferries started operating on the Lymington to Yarmouth route last year, despite opposition from the Lymington River Association.

Three months ago a High Court judge ruled that their introduction amounted to an unlawful violation of wildlife protection laws. Wightlink is consulting Natural England, the conservation watchdog, on preventing the ferries from damaging mudflats and salt marshes rich in bird and marine life.