Wightlink

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.

Wightlink

Wightlink's hybrid ferry Victoria of Wight at Portsmouth Harbour, 25 October 2018
Company type	Limited Company
Industry	Shipping
Headquarters	Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Area served	Hampshire Isle of Wight
Revenue	£71 million (2022)
Operating income	£28 million (2022)
Net income	£19 million (2022)
Parent	Basalt Infrastructure Partners (50%) Fiera Infrastructure (50%)
Website	www.wightlink.co.uk
Footnotes / references [1]

History

Wightlink's House Flag

Wightlink and its forerunners have provided ferry services to and from the Isle of Wight for more than 160 years.^[2] 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.^[2] 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.^[3][4] When Stena Line bought Sealink in 1990, the Isle of Wight ferries remained with Sea Containers, as Wightlink.^[2] In June 1995 Wightlink was the subject of a management buyout.^[5] In 2005 it was bought by the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund.^[2]

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.^[6]

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.^[7][8] In November 2008, the service was reduced so only two ships were required, allowing for the delay in the introduction of the new vessels.^[9] 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.^[10]

The previous Wightlink logo, replaced at around the time the new ferries were arriving.

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.^[11] 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.^[12] This involved remodelling the terminal facilities at both Fishbourne and Portsmouth. The flagship St Clare 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, St Catherine has been sold and St Helen was used mainly for freight until she too was sold.^[13][14] As part of this investment project the reservations and ticketing system was replaced by CarRes from Carus.^[15]

On 16 February 2015, Wightlink was sold by the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners (BBIP).^[16][17][18] 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.^[19][20]

In July 2016, Balfour Beatty exited BBIP, which became Basalt Infrastructure Partners.^[21][22]

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.^[23] In May 2019, BBIP sold a 50% stake in the business to Fiera Infrastructure of Canada.^[24]

Current fleet

St Clare, July 2013.

Wight Ryder I and Wight Ryder II at Portsmouth Harbour in August 2009 prior to entry into service

Wight Light, the first of the new ferries launched in 2008 for the Lymington to Yarmouth route, undertaking sea trials prior to delivery

Vehicle ferries

Wight Sky at Yarmouth Harbour

Wightlink's former St Catherine

Cenwulf, one of the former Lymington – Yarmouth ferries

Our Lady Pamela crossing the Solent

St Helen in foreground, and St Faith, 2013

St Cecilia, July 2013

Ferry	Entered service	Route
MV St Faith	1990	Portsmouth to Fishbourne
MV St Clare	2001	Portsmouth to Fishbourne
MV Victoria of Wight	2018	Portsmouth to Fishbourne
MV Wight Sun	2009	Lymington to Yarmouth
MV Wight Light	2009	Lymington to Yarmouth
MV Wight Sky	2009	Lymington 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

Catamaran	Entered service	Route
HSC Wight Ryder I	2009	Portsmouth to Ryde
HSC Wight Ryder II	2009	Portsmouth to Ryde

Historic fleet

The following ferries have operated historically on routes run by Wightlink or previous companies that have been absorbed by Wightlink.^[25][26]

Lymington-Yarmouth

Ship	Service	Company	Notes
PS Glasgow	1830–1850	Solent Steam Packet Co
PS Red Lion	1858–1880	Solent Steam Packet Co
PS Solent	1841–1861	Solent Steam Packet Co
PS Solent	1863 –1901	Solent Steam Packet Co
PS Mayflower	1866	Solent Steam Packet Co
PS Lymington	1893	London and South Western Railway
PS Solent	1902	London and South Western Railway
PS Freshwater	1927-1959	Southern Railway	Sold and renamed Sussex Queen, renamed Swanage Queen
MV Lymington	1938–1973	Southern Railway	First Voith Schneider driven ferry. Sold and renamed Sound of Sanda
PMV Farringford	1948–1974	British Transport Commission
MV Freshwater	1959–1983	British Transport Commission	2x 320bhp 8cyl Crossley diesels
MV Cenwulf	1973–2009	Wightlink	Scrapped 2010
MV Cenred	1974–2009	Wightlink	Scrapped 2010
MV Caedmon	1983–2009	Wightlink	Scrapped 2010

Portsmouth-Ryde

Ship	Service	Company	Notes
PS Arrow	1825–1851	Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet Co
PS Union	1825	Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet Co
PS Lord Yarborough	1826–1851	Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet Co
PS Lord Spencer	1833
PS Prince Albert	1847–1868	Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet Co
PS Prince of Wales	1850	Portsea, Portsmouth, Gosport & Isle of Wight Steam Packet Co
PS Princess Royal	1850	Portsea, Portsmouth, Gosport & Isle of Wight Steam Packet Co
PS Her Majesty	1850-1883	Portsmouth & Ryde Steam Packet Co
PS Prince Consort	1859–1882	Port of Portsmouth & Ryde United Steam Packet Co
PS Princess of Wales	1865–1885
PS Duke of Edinburgh	1869–1884
PS Princess Alice	1869–1882
PS Ventnor	1873–1879	Southsea & Isle of Wight Steam Packet Co
PS Shanklin
PS Ryde
PS Southsea
SS Princess Louise	1873–1874	Port of Portsmouth & Ryde United Steam Packet Co
SS Princess Beatrice	1874-1874
PS Heather Bell	1875
PS Albert Edward	1878
PS Alexandra	1879–1913		Sold to Cosens & Co Ltd
PS Victoria	1881–1899	Joint Railway Companies Steampacket Service
PS Duchess of Edinburgh	1884–1910
PS Duchess of Connaught	1884–1910
PS Duchess of Albany	1890–1927
PS Princess Margaret	1893–1927
PS Duchess of Kent	1897–1933		Sold and renamed Clacton Queen
PS Duchess of Fife	1890–1929
PS Duchess of Richmond	1910–1915		Mined in the Mediterranean
PS Duchess of Norfolk	1911–1937		Sold and renamed Embassy. Scrapped June 1967
PS Shanklin	1924–1950	Southern Railway	Sold and renamed Monarch
PS Merstone	1928–1952
PS Portsdown	1928–1941		Mined off Southsea
PS Southsea	1930–1941		J113 HMS Southsea mined off the River Tyne
PS Whippingham	1930–1962		J136 HMS Whippingham in WW2
PS Sandown	1934–1965		J20 HMS Sandown in WW2, evacuated 3,000 men at Dunkirk
PS Ryde	1937–1969		J132 HMS Ryde in WW2, Sold for use as a floating hotel and later a nightclub. Subsequent attempts at preservation finally failed in 2018.
TSMV Brading	1948–1986	British Transport Commission
TSMV Southsea	1948–1988	British Transport Commission	Acquired for preservation, ultimately unsuccessful. Scrapped 2005.
TSMV Shanklin	1951–1980	British Transport Commission	Sold and renamed Prince Ivanhoe. Holed and beached in 1981. Scrapped in 1984.
HSC Our Lady Patricia	1986–2006	Wightlink	Scrapped 2006
HSC Our Lady Pamela	1986–2008	Wightlink	Scrapped 2008
HSC FastCat Shanklin	1996–2009	Wightlink	Sold and renamed Sochi 2
HSC FastCat Ryde	1996–2010	Wightlink	Sold and renamed Rapparee, resold and renamed Sochi 1

Portsmouth-Fishbourne

Ship	Service	Company	Notes
MV Fishbourne	1927–1961	Southern Railway	Sent to Dunkirk in 1940, 2x 120bhp Gardner 4T7 semi diesels
MV Wootton	1928–1961	Southern Railway	Sent to Dunkirk in 1940, 2x 120bhp Gardner 4T7 semi diesels
MV Hilsea	1930–1961	Southern Railway	2x 120bhp Gardner 4T7 semi diesels
MV Fishbourne	1961–1983	British Transport Commission	IMO5115587, 2x 320bhp 8cyl Crossley diesels
MV Camber Queen	1961–1984	British Transport Commission	2x 320bhp 8cyl Crossley diesels
MV Cuthred	1969–1986	Wightlink	Sold and renamed Mira Praia
MV Caedmon	1973–1983	Wightlink	Transferred to Lymington - Yarmouth route. Scrapped 2010
MV St Catherine	1983–2010	Wightlink	Sold to Delcomar, Sardinia and renamed GB Conte
MV St Helen	1983–2015	Wightlink	Sold to Delcomar, Sardinia and renamed Anna Mur
MV St Cecilia	1987–2019	Wightlink	Sold to Delcomar, Sardinia and renamed Nando Murrau

Langstone Harbour-Bembridge

Ship	Service	Company	Notes
TF Carrier	1885–1888	Isle of Wight Marine Transit Co	Ex Firth of Tay train ferry. Scrapped 1888 due to being ill-suited for the Solent