MV Wight Sky is a new design of roll-on/roll-off car and passenger ferry operating on Wightlink's Lymington to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight route.
 Wight Sky in 2016
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Wight Sky |
| Owner | Wightlink |
| Operator | Wightlink |
| Port of registry | London,  United Kingdom |
| Route | Lymington to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Portsmouth~Fishbourne 2015 onwards (Seasonal relief vessel when required) |
| Ordered | 12 March 2007 |
| Builder | Kraljevica Shipyard, Kraljevica, Croatia |
| Yard number | 551 |
| Laid down | 13 August 2007 |
| Launched | 12 April 2008 |
| In service | 25 February 2009 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Wight class |
| Tonnage | 2,546 GT; 360 DWT[1] |
| Displacement | 1,495 Tonnes at Full Capacity |
| Length | 62.4 m (204.7 ft) |
| Beam | 16.1 m (52.8 ft) |
| Draught | 2.30 m (7.5 ft) at Full Capacity |
| Decks | Two Passenger and three Car Decks |
| Installed power | 4x 740bhp (552kw)Volvo D16MH 16 litre 6cyl diesels |
| Propulsion | 2 x Voith Schneider 21 R5/135 propeller units |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Capacity | 360 Passengers, 65 Cars, 110m of Freight Traffic |
| Crew | Normally 10, can be as low as eight. |
History
editWight Sky was constructed at the Kraljevica shipyard in Croatia and launched on 12 April 2008.[2] After fitting out, she left Croatia on 15 September 2008 and arrived in Portsmouth on 2 October 2008.[3]
Design
editWight Sky, the second of three new vessels built for Wightlink, is a completely new design of vessel with more comfortable passenger facilities. The design by naval architects Hart Fenton & Company (now Houlder Ltd), utilises fixed and mobile mezzanine decks, complete disabled access and a larger cafe and sundeck area. There is a passenger lift between the car deck and passenger decks.
The new vessels do not have the additional third deck of the old C-class ferries, with the space incorporated into the passenger lounges. They are intended to last as long as the C-class vessels they replace.
Service
editWight Sky is in service on the Yarmouth-Lymington crossing, with her sister ships Wight Light and Wight Sun. The Wight class vessels should be able to run to the existing timetable, with a scheduled crossing time of 30 minutes and 15 minutes turnaround.
The three previous vessels that ran the Lymington to Yarmouth route were retired and initially stored at Portsmouth. 35-year-old Cenred was brought back into service on 12 March 2009, when Wight Light broke down and was taken out of service for repairs to her hydraulic ramp.[4]
Footnotes
edit- ^ "Wight Sky (9446984)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Wightlink Launches Second New Ship In Croatia". Wightlink. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ "Captain's Log". Wightlink. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ "Swan song for ferry after breakdown". Isle of Wight County Press. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
