Red Funnel Ferries MV Red Eagle - Further Ferry Information and Vessel Description MV Red Eagle is a Raptor Class vehicle and passenger ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Red Funnel is the original ferry operator to the Isle of Wight and has a long, distinguished and colourful history spanning almost 150 years. Today, Red Funnel is a modern, integrated transport, travel and leisure company specialising in the Isle of Wight onboard MV Red Eagle and other ferries in their fleet.
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MV Red Eagle entered service in 1996, the latest car ferry to enter service after Red Falcon and Red Osprey in 1994.
Between October and December 2004 she was re-fitted and extended by Remontawa in Gdansk, Poland, in order to increase vehicle capacity by 80 and allow a greater passenger capacity. This involved the lengthening of the ship by 9.6 m. She was the last of Red Funnel's Raptor Class ships to undergo the process. When she re-entered service in January 2005, she became the largest vessel regularly crossing the Solent, taking this title from her sister Red Osprey. |
Red Eagle was originally planned to be built in 1998 but surging demand for cross-Solent travel brought the order for this ship forward to to 1996. Red Eagle, the Company's flagship can be distinguished from her two sister Raptor class vessels by having a taller funnel and a raised bridge which was designed to maintain sight-lines fore and aft. This was necessary due to the increased length of the passenger accommodation deck. The higher bridge section also provided more office and meeting room space for the crew. In the winter of 2004, Red Eagle was fitted with a new mid-section and a new end-to-end car deck, increasing vehicle capacity to 220 cars. She returned to the Solent in early Jan 2005 and entered the record books as the largest ferry to serve the Isle of Wight, a record she holds to this day.
All Red Funnel Ferries offer hot and cold food, fresh coffee and cakes, a bar, and free Wi-Fi internet connections onboard.
Red Funnel Ferries MV Red Eagle Ferry Statistics
- Length - 93.22 m
- Breadth - 17.5 m
- Speed - 14 knots
- Engines - FD340 Watsila diesels
- Built - 1996
- Yard - Ferguson Shipbuilders, Glasgow
- Propellers - Voith Schneider
- Cars - 220
- Passengers - 894
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