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
NameMV Wight Sky
OwnerWightlink
OperatorWightlink
Port of registryLondon,  United Kingdom
RouteLymington to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

Portsmouth~Fishbourne 2015 onwards

(Seasonal relief vessel when required)
Ordered12 March 2007
BuilderKraljevica Shipyard, Kraljevica, Croatia
Yard number551
Laid down13 August 2007
Launched12 April 2008
In service25 February 2009
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and typeWight class
Tonnage2,546 GT; 360 DWT[1]
Displacement1,495 Tonnes at Full Capacity
Length62.4 m (204.7 ft)
Beam16.1 m (52.8 ft)
Draught2.30 m (7.5 ft) at Full Capacity
DecksTwo Passenger and three Car Decks
Installed power4x 740bhp (552kw)Volvo D16MH 16 litre 6cyl diesels
Propulsion2 x Voith Schneider 21 R5/135 propeller units
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Capacity360 Passengers, 65 Cars, 110m of Freight Traffic
CrewNormally 10, can be as low as eight.

History

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Wight 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

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Wight 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

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Wight 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

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  1. ^ "Wight Sky (9446984)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Wightlink Launches Second New Ship In Croatia". Wightlink. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  3. ^ "Captain's Log". Wightlink. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  4. ^ "Swan song for ferry after breakdown". Isle of Wight County Press. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.