Maritime Propulsion

Named by HRH The Princess Royal at a ceremony in Cowes on July 4, 2016, the new craft is significant as it is the first high speed ferry to be built in Britain in over 16 years. 

Speaking at the naming ceremony Kevin George, Red Funnel’s CEO said, “It is only fitting that the naming ceremony took place where she was built in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Peter Morton, CEO of Shemara Refit said, “Red Jet 6 represents a number of important firsts and is testament to the world-class skills and dedication of the entire team at Shemara Refit.

“Red Jet 6 is proof that we can build and refit technically advanced fast ferries competitively on the Isle of Wight and I’m confident that she will lead to more orders from operators around the world”.

Shemara Efficiency
Red Jet 6 is the most eco-friendly vessel in Red Funnel’s fleet with a host of design features to reduce running costs and protect the environment in line with the company’s ISO 14001 accreditation.

In a break with Red Funnel tradition, the craft is fitted with four main engines rather than two. Each MTU 2000 series diesel powers a MJP 500 waterjet unit. This configuration helps reduce fuel consumption by 11% vs. Red Jet 4 and 30% vs. Red Jet 5, provide high levels of in-service reliability and ensure emissions comply with the IMO Tier II regulations.

Other technical innovations to help reduce fuel consumption include the use of vinyl instead of paint for the superstructure to reduce weight and the application of the latest Teflon hull coatings to minimize drag through the water.

And with the vinyl comes a new livery; designed to stand-out on the water and inspired by the customary wake of a waterjet propelled vessel travelling at high speed through the waves. The new livery will be introduced across the rest of the Red Jet fleet as part of their annual dry-docking cycle.

Red Jet 6 is configured to carry 275 passengers, who will experience a quiet, spacious and well-lit cabin fitted with leather seats and a sophisticated air-handling system designed to dry, cool or warm the air automatically. A new high bandwidth ship-to-shore Wi-Fi system has been specified which will be free for customers and the latest travel information system will be installed to show connecting services for buses, coaches, trains and flights in real-time.

Specification
Type: 40m Catamaran Passenger Ferry
Speed: 38 knots @ 85% maximum continuous rating
Range: 200 nautical miles (@ service speed)
Crew: 1 x Commander; 1 x Mate; 1-2 x Cabin Attendant (max crew 4)
Passenger capacity: 275 seated + 4 wheelchairs
Length (overall): 41.12m; Waterline length (excluding waterjet): 37.94m;
Beam moulded: 10.87m
Draught (loaded): 1.30m; Freeboard: 2.50m
Tank capacities: Fuel oil 5,000 litres; Fresh water 1,000 litres
Classification
Lloyds Register High Speed Craft and Naval Surface Craft July 2014, HSC 2008 MCA with exemptions
Port of Registry: Southampton, United Kingdom
Machinery
Main engines: 4 x MTU 10V 2000 M72 direct injection liquid cooled turbocharged intercooled diesels each developing 900kW @ 2,250rpm. Exhaust emissions meet MARPOL directive IMO II
Gearboxes: ZF 3050D
Propulsion: 4 x MJP 500 DRB waterjets
Steering: Vector control of thrust and steering of waterjets
Generators: 2 x Perkins Sabre 63kW 415v 3 phase 50Hz
Trim control: Humphree interceptors to maintain low-wash characteristics

Safety Equipment
Liferafts: 4 x liferaft 100 person open reversible
Evacuation slides: 2 x inflatable slides
Navigation & Communications
Radar: 2 x Furuno FAR2817 radars with 6.5ft open array antenna -12KW “X” Band. 19” type approved monitors
Electronic charting: 2 x Furuno FMD3200 ECDIS system supplied with EC3000 processor. 19” type approved monitors
GPS: 2 x Furuno GP170 GPS navigator with Furuno OP-20-23DGPS beacon set
Gyro Compass: Simrad GC85
Radio: 2 x Furuno FM-8900S class “A” DSC VHF radio telephone with handset
AIS: Furuno FA150 class “A” AIS system supplied with FA1502 display unit & transponder
Accommodation
Cabin: Separated from hulls by anti-vibration mountings designed to reduce noise and vibration
Ventilation: Air handling system including air-conditioning and de-humidifier
Windows: Tinted with blown air demisting (electrically heated on bridge)
CCTV: 8 x cameras + recording
Screens: 5 x LED flat panel displays
Multimedia: 1 x Navaho MediaCat