Red Funnel is to order 3 brand new ferries for its East Cowes-Southampton route, but they won’t be sailing until at least 2028.
It has been confirmed by the cross-Solent ferry operator that it intends to invest around £100million in 3 new vessels to replace the ageing Red Eagle, Red Falcon and Red Osprey, with the benefit of an improved crossing time. The new ships will be diesel-powered, rather than battery or electric, and will be smaller than the current Raptor-class vessels – but will have a ‘similar’ capacity. The contract to build the 3 new vessels is expected to be put out to tender later this year with UK shipyards set to be given the chance to bid for the order. However, it could be 2028 or 2029 before the new ferries are operating to and from East Cowes. It means that the Raptor-class ferries need to continue serving the Isle of Wight for at least another 4 years, at a time when reliability is becoming an issue with just 78% reliability recorded during the first part of 2024. Red Funnel has not yet revealed any design concepts for the new vessels.
