 The Cowes floating bridge remains the only way to cross the River Medina between the towns without taking a ten-mile trip via Newport.The current vessel was installed on 14 May 2017, but after a string of technical issues the service was suspended by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and a passenger-only replacement service provided by a small launch.After several months of service suspension and intermittent operation, full service finally resumed early in 2018.