# List of Red Funnel ships

The following list is of Ferries and boats that have been operated by Red Funnel.
Between 1840 and the 1960s, Red Funnel line and its predecessors operated 40 different classic passenger ferries, many of these being paddle steamers. Later ferries sometimes had space allocated for carrying cars but it was not until 1959 that the first purpose-built car ferry was introduced. Classic passenger vessels continued in service until the Balmoral was sold in 1969.

## Paddle steamers

| Ship | Service | Notes |
| PS Gem | 1840–1883 | |
| PS Ruby | 1841–1872 | The first Isle of Wight steamer to be built of iron |
| PS Pearl | 1844–1867 | |
| PS Queen (I) | 1848–1876 | |
| PS Medina (I) | 1852–1882 | |
| PS Emerald | 1857–1871 | |
| PS Sapphire | 1860–1873 | |
| PS Lord of the Isles | 1861–1889 | |
| PS Lady of the Lake | 1861–1887 | |
| PS Vectis | 1866–1910 | |
| PS Southampton | 1872–1902 | |
| PS Carisbrooke | 1876–1905 | |
| PS Prince Leopold | 1876–1905 | |
| PS Princess Beatrice | 1880–1930 | |
| PS Princess Helena | 1883–1950 | Sent to Dunkirk in 1940 |
| PS Her Majesty | 1885–1940 | Sunk during an air raid on Southampton |
| PS Princess of Wales | 1888–1888 | Sunk during trials in Scotland before entering service |
| PS Bangor Castle | 1888–1899 | Ex-PS Palmerston chartered to replace the sunken Princess of Wales |
| PS Solent Queen | 1889–1948 | Sent to Dunkirk in 1940 |
| PS Prince of Wales | 1891–1937 | |
| PS Lorna Doone | 1891–1947 | |
| PS Duchess of York | 1896–1949 | HM Minesweeper 0102 1916–1922. Renamed Duchess of Cornwall in 1928 |
| PS Victoria (I) | 1899–1900 | Launched 1881. Ex-London & South Western Railway and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Status unclear. Transfer recorded in official register but no mention on Red Funnel's records |
| PS Balmoral (I) | 1900–1947 | |
| PS Queen (II) | 1902–1938 | Renamed Mauretania in 1936 then renamed Corfe Castle in 1938 |
| PS Princess Royal | 1906–1906 | Not accepted after trials and sold to Cosens & Co Ltd. Renamed Emperor of India |
| PS Stirling Castle | 1907–1916 | Sunk off Malta on war service |
| PS Bournemouth Queen | 1908–1957 | |
| PS Lord Elgin | 1908–1955 | |
| PS Princess Mary | 1911–1919 | Sank in the Mediterranean after colliding with the sunken wreck of HMS Majestic |
| PS Princess Elizabeth | 1927–1959 | Sent to Dunkirk in 1940. Appeared in the 1962 Walt Disney film In Search of the Castaways. Now moored at Dunkirk as a conference centre |
| PS Gracie Fields | 1936–1940 | As HMS Gracie Fields she was sunk at Dunkirk |
| PS Lorna Doone (II) | 1949–1952 | Ex-Queen of Kent, ex-HMS Atherstone |
| PS Solent Queen (II) | 1949–1951 | Ex-Queen of Thanet, ex-HMS Melton |

## Twin-screw steamers

| Ship | Service | Notes |
| TSS Upton | 1946–1950 | Purchased from Birkenhead Corporation |
| TSS Robina | 1948–1949 | Purchased from Coast Lines Ltd |

### Motor vessels

| Ship | Service | Notes |
| MV Medina (III) | 1931–1962 | The first diesel engined ferry on the Solent |
| MV Vecta (I) | 1938–1965 | 2 × English Electric 6LM type diesels. Sold to P & A Campbell, renamed Westward Ho |
| MV Balmoral (II) | 1949–1969 | Operated by P & A Campbell from 1968 to 1980. In 1981 she was sold for use as a floating nightclub in Dundee. Bought in 1985 by Waverley Excursions, she acted as the sister ship of the Waverley until 2012. Entered service on 19 June 2015 with White Funnel Ltd. |

### Car ferries

Although some earlier ferries provided space for cars, Red Funnel introduced its first purpose-built car ferry in 1959. Besides the Raptor-class vessels that are still in service, the following car ferries have been used by Red Funnel:
| Ship | Service | Notes |
| MV Norris Castle (II) | 1947–1962 | Ex-LCT 828 |
| MV Carisbrooke Castle | 1959–1974 | Sold to Italy and renamed Citta di Meta. Scrapped 2007 |
| MV Osborne Castle | 1962–1978 | Sold to Canada and renamed Le Gobelet d'Argent, then Le Maxim, then Cavalier Maxim |
| MV Cowes Castle | 1965–1994 | Sold to Croatia and renamed Nehaj. Scrapped 2008 |
| MV Norris Castle (III) | 1968–1994 | Sold to Croatia and renamed Lovrjenac. Scrapped 2008 |
| MV Netley Castle | 1974–1997 | Sold to Croatia and renamed Sis |
| MV Bergen Castle | 2003–2005 | Ex-Nordhordland, purchased to maintain a three-boat service during refit period of current fleet. Sold and renamed Stella |

## Fast passenger ferries

The first fast ferry introduced by Red Funnel was the Sea Coach Island Enterprise, a motor cruiser capable of carrying 11 passengers at 20 knots. She was built by the British Power Boat Company in Hythe, and operated from 1933 to 1938.

### Hovercraft

In 1968 the company ran trials with an HM2 sidewall hovercraft, number 002, in order to compete with the Seaspeed service which used an SRN6 between Southampton and Cowes. Due to the unreliability of the craft it never entered passenger service. In 1981 Red Funnel acquired a pair of HM2 MkIIIs, GH2019 & GH2024, which were primarily used on the charter service for Vosper Thorneycroft transporting workers from the Isle of Wight to the Woolston yard and back each day. These two craft were disposed of in June 1982 and the charter was subsequently operated by the augmented hydrofoil fleet.

### Hydrofoils

The first hydrofoils to operate on the Southampton to Cowes route, and the first in commercial service in the United Kingdom were the Italian-designed Shearwater and Shearwater 2. These were introduced by Red Funnel in 1969, and each seated 54 passengers. They were replaced in 1973 by two 67-seat RH70 hydrofoils, built by Cantière Navale Rodriguez, named Shearwater 3 and Shearwater 4. The latter was delivered some five months after the former and in the interim, a PT20 craft, Fleccia di Reggio, was chartered to stand in. In 1982 Shearwater 5 and Shearwater 6 were added to the fleet. In 1991, with the introduction of the first Red Jet catamarans, the hydrofoils were demoted to backup duties until they were finally withdrawn in 1998.

### Red Jets

| Ship | Service | Notes |
| Red Jet 1 | 1991–2009 | Sold to Caspian Mainport, renamed CM Jet 1. |
| Red Jet 2 | 1991–2009 | Sold to Caspian Mainport, renamed CM Jet 2. |
| Red Jet 3 | 1998–2019 | Sold to Adriatic Fast Ferries in Split, Croatia. Renamed Adriatic Express. |
| Red Jet 4 | 2003–2024 | Sold to Namhae Express Co in South Korea. |
| Red Jet 5 | 2009–2016 | Ex-Bo Hengy. Sold to Italy and renamed Schiopparello Jet. |

## Tugs and tug tenders

Some tugs also had passenger accommodation to enable them to serve as tenders to liners not berthing in Southampton and to augment the excursion fleet on occasion.
| Ship | Service | Notes |
| ST Sovereign | 1885–1894 | |
| ST Alexandra | 1885–1897 | |
| ST Fawn | 1885–1897 | |
| TSS T/T Albert Edward | 1886–1934 | |
| TSST Hercules | 1890–1927 | |
| TSST Vulcan | 1893–1957 | Rescued the SS New York after her near collision with the RMS Titanic |
| TSST Ajax | 1894–1936 | |
| TSST Neptune (I) | 1896–1904 | |
| TSST Hector | 1903–1958 | One of the tugs that assisted RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage |
| TSST Neptune (II) | 1910–1961 | One of the tugs that assisted RMS Titanic on her maiden voyage |
| TSST Sir Bevois (I) | 1916–1941 | Sunk during an air raid in Plymouth |
| ST Minas | 1920–1931 | |
| ST Ascupart | 1922–1927 | |
| ST Morglay | 1922–1927 | |
| TSST Canute | 1923–1965 | |
| TSST Clausentum | 1926–1966 | |
| TSS T/T Calshot (I) | 1930–1964 | Sold and renamed Galway Bay. Preserved at Southampton in 1986 as Calshot. Scrapped in 2022. |
| ST Empire Lilliput | 1944–1947 | Managed for Ministry of War Transport |
| ST TID 69 | 1944–1947 | Managed for Ministry of War Transport |
| ST Bantam | 1946–1958 | |
| TSS T/T Paladin | 1946–1960 | She appeared in the 1959 Peter Sellers film The Mouse That Roared to transport the Grand Fenwick army from France to invade America. |
| ST Beamish | 1951–1952 | Ex-Queensgarth, ex-Empire Paul. Later renamed Thunder Cape |
| TSST Hamtun (I) | 1953–1970 | |
| TSST Sir Bevois (II) | 1953–1968 | |
| TSMT Atherfield | 1956–1971 | |
| TSMT Culver | 1956–1983 | |
| TSMT Dunnose | 1958–1980 | |
| TSM T/T Gatcombe (I) | 1960–1969 | |
| TSMT Thorness | 1961–1983 | |
| TSM T/T Calshot (II) | 1964–1985 | Sold in 1987 to Antrefo. Sold in 1989 to Dublin Bay Cruises and renamed Tara II. Then to Remolques del Mediterraneo SA in 1992 and renamed Boluda Abrego. Scrapped in 2012. |
| MT Bonchurch | 1966–1983 | Ex-Baie Comeau, ex-Abeille No 13, ex-TID 174 |
| TSMT Chale | 1965–1986 | |
| MT Gatcombe (II) | 1970–1997 | Sold and renamed Multratug 6 |
| MT Vecta (II) | 1970–1999 | Sold and renamed Multratug 8, renamed Serwal 4 |
| TSMT Clausentum (II) | 1980–1993 | Sold and renamed Strathfoyle, renamed Westlund |
| TSMT Gurnard | 1982–1985 | Ex-Aziebank, ex-Azie |
| TSMT Totland | 1982–1985 | Ex-Europabank, ex-Europa |
| TSMT Hamtun (II) | 1985–2002 | Renamed Multratug 16 |
| TSMT Sir Bevois (III) | 1985–2002 | Renamed Svitzer Bevois, renamed Beaver |
| TSMT Portunus | 1985–1993 | Ex-John af Goteborg, resumed name of John af Goteborg, renamed John |
| TSMT Redbridge | 1995–2002 | Renamed Adsteam Redbridge, renamed Svitzer Redbridge |

## Medina crossing

| Ship | Service | Notes |
| SL Precursor (I) | 1867–1883 | |
| SL Princess Louise | 1871–1944 | Sunk in collision with a landing craft off Town Quay shortly before D-Day |
| SL Medina (II) | 1884–1931 | |
| SL Precursor (II) | 1898–1939 | Requisitioned by the Admiralty for service in the Mediterranean |
| ML Norris Castle (I) | 1938–1939 | Requisitioned by the Admiralty for service in the Mediterranean |

## Hythe Crossing Ferries

In 2023, the Hythe Ferry was acquired by Red Funnel, previous ferries to have operated on the service include:
* MV Hythe Hotspur ex Gosport Ferry, Southsea Queen bought in 1978 to operate cruises and act as a standby vessel for the ferry.
* MV New Forester introduced in 1982. She utilised the engines removed from Hotspur III.
* MV Solent Rose was borrowed from the Hurst Castle ferry service in 2013.
* MV Uriah Heep removed from service following a collision with the pier on 13 May 2016. As a result of the collision the Maritime and Coastguard Agency withdrew the vessel's passenger safety certificate and vessel was later sold.
* Hotspur IV was built in 1946 and served on the service until 2014. Hotspur IV was the last in a line of similar ferries. One of her earlier half-sisters, Hotspur II of 1936, saw further service as a ferry on the Firth of Clyde under the name Kenilworth.