MV ''Red Falcon'' is a ''Raptor Class'' vehicle and passenger ferry operated by

Red Funnel Red Funnel, the trading name of the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited,Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. She was built by

Ferguson Shipbuilders Ferguson may refer to: Places Canada *Ferguson Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario) *Ferguson, British Columbia *Mount Ferguson (Ontario), a mountain in Temagami, Ontario United States *Ferguson, a meteorite fall in North Carolina *Ferguson, Arkansas * F ...

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

. She first entered service in 1994, being bought new by Red Funnel along with sister ship '' Red Osprey'' and as such, has operated the same regular route throughout her life. Between January and March 2004 she underwent modifications by

Remontowa Remontowa (full name: Gdańska Stocznia "Remontowa" im. J. Piłsudskiego S.A.) is a company and shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. The yard specialises in ship repair and conversions. ''Remontowa S.''A. is one of 26 companies that make up the Remontowa ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, in order to increase vehicle capacity by 80 and allow a greater passenger capacity. This involved the lengthening of the ship by .

2014 refit

From February to April 2014, ''Red Falcon'' was in a drydock at Portsmouth for a major refit costing over £2 million. The refit provides an extra level of passenger accommodation with 55% more seating. The environmental footprint of the vessel was also reduced by installing LED lighting, and recycling facilities. A pair of webcams on top of the ship's bridge were also replaced, and provide footage of the ferry's journey.

Events

On 10 March 2006, ''Red Falcon'' collided with the

linkspan A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) vessel or ferry, particularly to allow for tidal changes in water level. Linkspans are usually found at ferry t ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, causing significant damage to the ferry's 'Southampton Side' bow doors. Vehicles, including an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

carrying a patient (evacuated by dinghy) had to remain onboard for over eight hours while engineers forced the door open. On 11 November 2008, the ''Red Falcon'' was used on an excursion to view ''

Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic ...

'' leaving Southampton for the final time. On 29 September 2018 the ferry collided with a motor yacht while approaching East Cowes, injuring two people on the yacht but sustaining no damage herself. Both vessels were travelling from Southampton to Cowes. On 21 October 2018, the ferry collided with several yachts, sinking one named ''Greylag'', and ran aground on the Isle of Wight while trying to berth at East Cowes. A search and rescue mission was started after people nearby heard 'voices from the water', but this was called off after the voices were attributed to people on a nearby boat calling to the lifeboats in attendance. Heavy fog hampered the search and a helicopter searching the area had to turn back due to low visibility. Lifeboats from

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

and

Calshot Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). History In 1539, Henry VIII ordere ...

were in attendance. ''Red Falcon'' was refloated with the assistance of tugs and docked in East Cowes. There were no reported injuries. ''Greylag'', the yacht sunk by ''Red Falcon'', was successfully raised and recovered on 23 October 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Falcon Ferries of England Ferry transport on the Isle of Wight 1994 ships Ships of Red Funnel