Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes across The Solent between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England. It operates car ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth, and Portsmouth and Fishbourne and a fast passenger-only catamaran between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier. It is jointly owned by Basalt Infrastructure Partners and Fiera Infrastructure.

History

Wightlink and its forerunners have provided ferry services to and from the Isle of Wight for more than 160 years.History Wightlink In the early 19th century, ferries ran to the island from Lymington and Portsmouth. Later, steam ferries operated a circular route around Lymington, Yarmouth, Cowes, Ryde and Portsmouth. When the railway companies became involved, they concentrated on two direct routes, Lymington to Yarmouth and Portsmouth to Ryde. Operation of the ferries was eventually moved under a separate subsidiary of the British Railways Board called Sealink.

In 1984 Sealink was sold to Sea Containers.Sealink sale confirmed Modern Railways issue 432 September 1984 page 454Intelligence Railway Gazette International September 1984 page 662 When Stena Line bought Sealink in 1990, the Isle of Wight ferries remained with Sea Containers, as Wightlink. In June 1995 Wightlink was the subject of a management buyout.Wightlink sold to its management Southern Daily Echo 17 October 2001 In 2005 it was bought by the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund.

In 2005, a Wightlink car ferry featured briefly in the film Fragile starring Calista Flockhart. The ferry is shown very briefly in a wide-angle shot. Closer shots used Red Funnel's Red Osprey.

In October 2006 Wightlink announced its intention to build two new ferries for the Yarmouth to Lymington route. These ships are slightly bigger than their predecessors, with extra vehicle space, but only accommodate 360 passengers compared to 500 on the older vessels. Wightlink later announced that a third new ferry would enter service in spring 2009. A dispute with some Lymington residents led to delay and threatened the viability of the route. In November 2008, the service was reduced so only two ships were required, allowing for the delay in the introduction of the new vessels. Sea trials were not complete by November 2008 and introduction became pressing with the expiry of safety certificates on the previous fleet. Wightlink proposed interim arrangements enabling them restricted use of the new ferries until the trials could be completed in full.

In March 2008 Wightlink revealed that an order had been placed with FBMA Marine to construct two new passenger catamarans for the Portsmouth to Ryde service, to replace the three craft currently employed. They entered service in 2009.

From May 2008 Wightlink introduced a fuel surcharge on all crossings, linked to the price of Brent Crude oil. However, in November 2008 the surcharge dropped to zero following the sharp drop in crude prices during the 2008 financial crisis and as of November 2009 was still at zero.

Wightlink planned to spend £17.5 million on improving its Portsmouth to Fishbourne route. This involved remodelling the terminal facilities at both Fishbourne and Portsmouth. The flagship was to have its upper car deck adjusted so vehicles access it directly from on-shore ramps. Two of the older ferries were to be stretched in length by 12 metres, with upper car decks similar to St Clare'''s being added, replacing movable mezzanine decks. Of the remaining two ferries, has been sold and was used mainly for freight until she too was sold. As part of this investment project the reservations and ticketing system was replaced by CarRes from Carus.

On 16 February 2015, Wightlink was sold by the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners (BBIP).Wightlink changes hands Ships Monthly May 2015 page 11 On 15 May 2015, Wightlink announced a revised investment of £45 million to include the purchase a new ferry, upgrading St Clare and modifications to the terminals at both ends to facilitate double-deck loading.

In July 2016, Balfour Beatty exited BBIP, which became Basalt Infrastructure Partners.

In August 2017, Wightlink announced that a new vehicle ferry, Victoria of Wight'', would be built for the Portsmouth to Fishbourne service. It entered service on 26 August 2018. In May 2019, BBIP sold a 50% stake in the business to Fiera Infrastructure of Canada.

Current fleet

Vehicle ferries

FerryEntered serviceRoute1990Portsmouth to Fishbourne2001Portsmouth to FishbourneVictoria of Wight2018Portsmouth to FishbourneWight Sun2009Lymington to YarmouthWight Light2009Lymington to YarmouthWight Sky2009Lymington to Yarmouth

The introduction of the Wight class ferries was a much-discussed affair, with some Lymington residents claiming that the increased size of the ferries posed a risk, both in environmental terms and to users of pleasure craft on the Lymington river.

High-speed craft CatamaranEntered serviceRouteWight Ryder I2009Portsmouth to RydeWight Ryder II2009Portsmouth to Ryde

Historic fleet The following ferries have operated historically on routes run by Wightlink or previous companies that have been absorbed by Wightlink.Hendy, John. (1989) Sealink Isle of Wight, Ferry Publications

Lymington-Yarmouth ShipServiceCompanyNotesPS Glasgow1830–1850Solent Steam Packet CoPS Red Lion1858–1880Solent Steam Packet CoPS Solent1841–1861Solent Steam Packet Co1863 –1901Solent Steam Packet Co1866Solent Steam Packet CoPS Lymington1893London and South Western Railway1902London and South Western RailwayPS Freshwater1927-1959Southern RailwaySold and renamed Sussex Queen, renamed Swanage Queen1938–1973Southern RailwayFirst Voith Schneider driven ferry. Sold and renamed Sound of SandaPMV Farringford1948–1974British Transport CommissionMV Freshwater1959–1983British Transport Commission2x 320bhp 8cyl Crossley diesels1973–2009WightlinkScrapped 20101974–2009WightlinkScrapped 20101983–2009Wightlink Scrapped 2010

Portsmouth-Ryde ShipServiceCompanyNotesPS ArrowPortsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet CoPS Union1825Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet CoPS Lord Yarborough1826–1851Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet CoPS Lord Spencer1833PS Prince Albert1847–1868Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet CoPS Prince of Wales1850Portsea, Portsmouth, Gosport & Isle of Wight Steam Packet CoPS Princess Royal1850Portsea, Portsmouth, Gosport & Isle of Wight Steam Packet CoPS Her Majesty1850-1883Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet CoPS Prince Consort1859–1882Port of Portsmouth & Ryde United Steam Packet CoPS Princess of Wales1865–1885PS Duke of Edinburgh1869–1884PS Princess Alice1869–1882PS Ventnor1873–1879Southsea & Isle of Wight Steam Packet CoPS ShanklinPS RydePS SouthseaSS Princess Louise1873–1874Port of Portsmouth & Ryde United Steam Packet CoSS Princess Beatrice1874-1874PS Heather Bell1875PS Albert Edward1878PS Alexandra1879–1913Sold to Cosens & Co LtdPS Victoria1881–1899Joint Railway Companies Steampacket ServicePS Duchess of Edinburgh1884–1910PS Duchess of Connaught1884–1910PS Duchess of Albany1890–1927PS Princess Margaret1893–1927PS Duchess of Kent1897–1933Sold and renamed Clacton Queen1890–1929PS Duchess of Richmond1910–1915Mined in the Mediterranean1911–1937Sold and renamed Embassy. Scrapped June 19671924–1950Southern RailwaySold and renamed Monarch1928–19521928–1941Mined off Southsea1930–1941J113 HMS Southsea mined off the River Tyne1930–1962J136 HMS Whippingham in WW21934–1965J20 HMS Sandown in WW2, evacuated 3,000 men at Dunkirk1937–1969J132 HMS Ryde in WW2, Sold for use as a floating hotel and later a nightclub. Subsequent attempts at preservation finally failed in 2018.1948–1986British Transport Commission1948–1988British Transport Commission Acquired for preservation, ultimately unsuccessful. Scrapped 2005.1951–1980British Transport CommissionSold and renamed Prince Ivanhoe. Holed and beached in 1981. Scrapped in 1984.Our Lady Patricia1986–2006WightlinkScrapped 2006Our Lady Pamela1986–2008WightlinkScrapped 2008FastCat Shanklin1996–2009WightlinkSold and renamed Sochi 2FastCat Ryde1996–2010WightlinkSold and renamed Rapparee, resold and renamed Sochi 1

Portsmouth-Fishbourne ShipServiceCompanyNotesMV Fishbourne1927–1961Southern RailwaySent to Dunkirk in 1940, 2x 120bhp Gardner 4T7 semi dieselsMV Wootton1928–1961Southern RailwaySent to Dunkirk in 1940, 2x 120bhp Gardner 4T7 semi dieselsMV Hilsea1930–1961Southern Railway2x 120bhp Gardner 4T7 semi dieselsMV Fishbourne1961–1983British Transport CommissionIMO5115587, 2x 320bhp 8cyl Crossley dieselsMV Camber Queen1961–1984British Transport Commission2x 320bhp 8cyl Crossley diesels1969–1986WightlinkSold and renamed Mira Praia1973–1983WightlinkTransferred to Lymington - Yarmouth route. Scrapped 20101983–2010WightlinkSold to Delcomar, Sardinia and renamed GB Conte1983–2015WightlinkSold to Delcomar, Sardinia and renamed Anna Mur 1987–2019WightlinkSold to Delcomar, Sardinia and renamed Nando Murrau

Langstone Harbour-Bembridge ShipServiceCompanyNotesTF Carrier1885–1888Isle of Wight Marine Transit CoEx Firth of Tay train ferry. Scrapped 1888 due to being ill-suited for the Solent

References

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External links