Red Funnel welcomes first freight ferry

The Red Kestrel, the newest addition to Red Funnel’s fleet, will be Red Funnel’s first dedicated Ro-Ro freight ship since the company’s inception almost 160 years ago.

The naming ceremony was held at Southampton docks and was attended by representatives of Red Funnel Ferries together with the Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, Minister of State for Employment at Department of Work and Pensions, who delivered a speech highlighting the importance of British craftsmanship.

Frank Collins, chief executive of Red Funnel, said, “Today has marked a very special occasion in the history of Red Funnel. The addition of a new ship is always an exciting time for everyone, and Red Kestrel marks an important new direction for us as our first-ever freight ship.”

“Red Kestrel is designed to provide additional year-round freight capacity for our Southampton to East Cowes route, which currently handles 53% of all freight movements across the Solent.”

Opting for the build of the ship to be based within the UK, Red Funnel awarded the contract to shipbuilding company, Cammell Laird, based on the River Mersey at Birkenhead. At 74m in length, the new ferry will provide 265 lane metres of roll-on/roll-off freight capacity, allowing for 12 HGVs. The hull shape has been designed to reduce wash and a propulsion package has been selected to make her highly fuel efficient. The use of azimuth thrusters supplied by Rolls Royce will also make the ship very manoeuvrable.

The Red Kestrel will operate between Southampton and the Isle of Wight and will officially enter service in May.