A newly built hovercraft that is set to operate in Japanese waters has arrived at Ryde for a period of testing on the Solent.
The 12000TD craft – seen by many as a Mark II version of those used on Hovertravel’s Ryde to Southsea service – is 1 of 3 ordered for the Oita Prefecture in Japan. It will provide a vital passenger service connecting Oita Airport in Kunisaki with Oita City, improving access and reintroducing a ferry route last used about 10 years ago.
‘Baien’ has been built by Griffon Hoverwork in Portchester after the manufacturer won a £25million contract back in 2021, with work commencing in January last year.
Yesterday (Wednesday) the craft, complete with its snazzy stars livery, was launched from Griffon’s shipyard and made its way through Portsmouth Harbour and across the Solent to Ryde, where it will be based for the remainder of its sea trials.
Islanders will see the hovercraft coming and going over the next few weeks and although it may look identical to Hovertravel’s craft, there are some slight differences.
The biggest change is the introduction of new bow thrusters on the port and starboard side; it appears these are fed from the skirt lift and will act to give the pilot more manoeuvrability left and right. On both Solent Flyer and Island Flyer fans were installed as a replacement for bow thrusters, but these have since been removed.
The last of the 3 hovercraft is due to be delivered by January 2024.
They need to build one for the solent, it seems our one won’t work in wind, rain, sunshine, or any day with a y on the end.
let’s hope it’s more reliable than the first generation one….
They will get it out there , take it apart and then make it better ..
Let’s hope these ones fair better than the one’s in use on the Solent. Barely a week goes by without some sort of issue, technical or other. The daily commute is becoming a chore and lottery
perhaps if they spent more time making sure both hovercraft were available at all times, instead of banging on about pride on twitter, they might actually do better.