The name of Red Funnel’s brand new £10million freight ferry has been revealed today (Thursday) following a special keel laying ceremony in Birkenhead.
The 74-metre-long vessel will enter service between East Cowes and Southampton in Spring 2019 and is being built here in the United Kingdom at Cammell Laird’s shipyard near Warrington.
‘Red Kestrel’ will provide 265 metre lanes of roll-on/roll-off freight capacity which is enough for 12 artic lorries. She will carry up to 12 passengers.
Karen George, wife of Red Funnel’s Chairman, had the honour of pushing the button to lay down the first section of the keel, accompanied by Alok Sharma MP, Minister of State for Employment at Department of Work and Pensions; John Syvret CBE, CEO of Cammell Laird and Kevin George, Chairman of Red Funnel Group.
The milestone event, which was witnessed by 300 invited guests, was followed by a keynote address from the Minister of State as part of his visit to businesses in the North West of England.
Kevin George, Chairman of Red Funnel Group, said:
“We are proud to have placed this order in the UK as the work helps ensure the revival of world-class shipbuilding in this country. The keel laying is one of the most time-honoured traditions in the building of a ship and we very much look forward to watching the build progress over the coming months.
“Once in service, the additional freight capacity on our Southampton-East Cowes route will help grow the Isle of Wight economy.”
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John Syvret CBE, CEO of Cammell Laird, said:
“It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the entire workforce to welcome Red Funnel’s team to Cammell Laird for this historic keel laying ceremony. My thanks go to Kevin George and his executive team for placing their trust in us.
“The Cammell Laird management and workforce are looking forward to building this state-of-the-art ferry, drawing on all our marine engineering expertise.”
In time honoured tradition and as a symbol of good luck, coins, in this case an Isle of Wight silver sixpence dating from 1811 and a halfpenny from 1792 were placed under the keelblock. Both coins will eventually be recovered and presented to Red Kestrel when she enters service.
The introduction of a dedicated freight ferry will mean that those traveling to and from the Isle of Wight will have more space on board their selected crossing with the removal of freight lorries – which are vital to Island life.
The crossing time of 55-60 minutes will be identical to Red Funnel’s existing Raptor class ro-pax ships and she will use the same berths in Southampton and East Cowes.
Work has now begun on a ‘layby berth’ for the freight vessel, as previously reported by Island Echo.
