New Ferry for Red Funnel Floated Out

Cammell Laird recently floated out a new $13 million ferry built for Isle of Wight ferry operator Red Funnel.

Dubbed Red Kestrel, the freight-only RoRo is slated to operate between Southampton and Isle of Wight, scheduled to join the fleet in May 2019 after finish and sea trials. 

Red Kestrel is Red Funnel’s first ship to be designed for freight traffic. As a freight vessel it is limited to 12 passengers and builtspecifically to provide additional year-round freight capacity for Red Funnel’s Southampton-East Cowes route, which currently handles 53% of all freight movements across the Solent. Red Kestrel is due to enter service in May 2019, with the current ferry timetable to be updated to accommodate the vessel.

At 74m long, itwill provide 265 lane meters of RoRo freight capacity and will carry up to 12 passengers. To minimize the environmental footprint, the hull shape has been designed specifically to reduce wash and a propulsion package has been selected to make her highly fuel efficient while meeting the latest Tier III emission regulations. The ship is propelled  by Rolls-Royce azimuth thrusters to enhance maneuverability. The crossing time of 55-60 minutes will be identical to Red Funnel’s existing Raptor class RoPax ships and she will use the same berths in Southampton and East Cowes.