MV ''Red Jet 4'' is a passenger catamaran ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from

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 ...

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 Fl ...

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 Is ...

, along with sister ships ''

Red Jet 6 MV ''Red Jet 6'' is a high-speed Catamaran ferry constructed for Red Funnel in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight as the sixth member of the company's expansive ''Red Jet'' line of catamarans. Red Funnel announced in May 2015 that they had placed ...

and

Red Jet 7 MV ''Red Jet 7'' is a British high speed catamaran ferry operated by the ferry company Red Funnel on its Southampton-Cowes route, alongside the company's other current Red Jets '' 4'' and '' 6''. Constructed on site at the Wight Shipyard wh ...

.'' She was built by North West Bay Ships in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. After her launch on 20 February 2003 the catamaran was placed aboard a heavy lift ship to be transported to Southampton which arrived on 9 May 2003. She was officially named by Dame

Ellen MacArthur Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, Isle of Wight. MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005, ...

on 18 June 2003 and entered service five days later. During those 5 days the ship was used for a number of excursions including following the

Round the Island Race The Round the Island Race is an annual yacht race around the Isle of Wight. It starts and finishes in Cowes, and is organised by the Island Sailing Club. The course is about long. It was first held in 1931, it was sponsored by JP Morgan Ass ...

. On 11 November 2008 ''Red Jet 4'' was used on a number of sightseeing trips 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 transatlant ...

before it left Southampton for the final time. ''Red Jet 4'' is featured in the 2008 video game Ship Simulator 2008 with the MV ''Red Eagle'' as a sailable ship.

Incidents

On 5 November 2016, while passing Fawley en route to Cowes, Red Jet 4 was in a sidelong collision with a man riding a

jet ski Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...

. The man was uninjured and was picked up by a companion on another machine. ''Red Jet 4'' circled to make sure the rescue was successful before continuing on its course.

References

External links

Red Jet 4 at redfunnel.co.uk
{{Red Funnel Ferries of England Ferry transport on the Isle of Wight 2003 ships Ships of Red Funnel Individual catamarans