Fears of a gas leak permeated around the island resulting in Southern Gas Networks receiving a hefty number of calls as worried residents raised the alarm.
After an investigation into the stench by a number of SGN engineers it was determined that an offshore tanker was causing the whiff which could also be smelt in Portsmouth.
The nature of the odor is unclear but it was believed to being discharged by a vessel moored at the mouth of the Solent.
An SGN spokeswoman said: We received a significant increase in the number of calls yesterday reporting a smell of gas outside in the Hayling Island area. We received around 230 calls from residents along the South Coast in connection with this throughout the day.
On an average day we usually receive nearer five to 10 reports of this type. We believe the smell to have originated from a tanker in the Solent discharging an odour.
The smell has now dispersed.
