3 iconic hovercraft that served the Ryde to Southsea route have set sail to their new home – in Indonesia.
‘Freedom 90’, ‘Island Express’ and ‘Courier’ were both owned and operated by Hovertravel, crossing the Solent thousands of times between 1986 and 2018. However, with the arrival of the Flyer generation, the last AP1-88 craft was retired from the fleet in 2018.
The craft have sat at Griffin Hoverwork’s yard in Southampton for over 3 years now, but have finally been sold to new owners abroad. The sisters were loaded onto the ship ‘Arneborg’ yesterday (Wednesday) after being tugged up Southampton Water.
It’s understood the trio are en-route to Indonesia and will be at sea for around 45 days before making the final leg of their around-the-world journey. It’s not entirely clear who the new owner is, with the purchaser being kept well under wraps.
It’s not unusual for hovercraft to operate elsewhere in the world with Isle of Wight-built machines having served in Russia, Denmark, Sierra Leone, Spain, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Canada, the Philippines and The Bahamas – among other locations. Although these latest exports are over 30 years old they are ready to operate again – a testament to their build quality.
Solent Express, a BHT-130 hovercraft built for Hovertravel in 2007, has returned to the pad at Ryde this month for storage purposes. Sadly, it won’t be re-entering service between Ryde-Southsea and is also up for sale after being withdrawn in 2013.
History of the Craft
Island Express began life in 1984 as ‘Freja Viking’ and was operated in Denmark by Scandinavian Airlins System (SAS). Hovertravel acquired the craft in 2002 and named her Island Express, running under that name until her retirement upon arrival of Hovertravel’s new craft. However, the trusty steed was brought back into action in 2016 for a temporary period.
Courier was built in Australian in 1986 and served the Isle of Wight for a short period in ’88 before being sold to Spain in 1989. In 2001 the craft was sold for service in Cuba, but by the end of the decade found itself in The Bahamas under the ownership of Hoverlines International and was renamed ‘Griffin’. The craft was adapted at the front for use as a wind turbine transfer vessel, but this never materialised. The craft was shipped back to Southampton around 2009 and has been laid up ever since.
Freedom 90 was built in St Helens, Isle of Wight in 1990 and operated the Ryde-Southsea route non-stop until being officially retired in 2018 – a staggering 28 years. Freedom is the only commercial hovercraft to have ever landed at Alum Bay and became a staple of Hovertravel’s operation right until the end.
