Name MV Red Osprey Identification IMO number 9064059 Launched 1994 | Operator Red Funnel Status In service Builder Ferguson Shipbuilders | |
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In service Oct 1994 - Sept 2003, Jan 2004 - Jan 2015, April 2015 - Class and type Raptor Class Car Passenger Ferry | ||
MV Red Osprey is a Raptor Class vehicle and passenger ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. She was built by Ferguson Shipbuilders in Port Glasgow.
She first entered service in 1994, being bought new by Red Funnel along with her sister ship Red Falcon and as such, has operated the same regular route throughout her life. Between October and December 2003 she was re-fitted and extended by Remontowa in Gdańsk, Poland, in order to increase vehicle capacity by 80 and allow a greater passenger capacity. This involved the lengthening of the ship by 9.6 m (31 ft). She was the first of Red Funnel's Raptor Class ships to undergo the process,. From December 2004 until Red Eagle's stretch was completed a year later, she was the largest vessel regularly crossing the Solent, having taken this title from Wightlink's St Clare.
In 2005, Red Osprey featured in the film Fragile, starring Calista Flockhart. Several scenes were shot both on and off the ferry as it cruised across the Solent, including scenes shot on B and A deck. Somewhat unrealistically, the ferry docks at the head of Ryde Pier, rather than its normal stopping point at East Cowes.
In January 2009, both sides of the ship were re-painted in an entirely yellow and blue livery to advertise the opening of a new IKEA store in Southampton. This was the first time a Red Funnel ferry was re-painted out of the company's own colour scheme. She stayed in these colours for 12 months as part of a deal between Red Funnel and IKEA to provide home delivery services to the Isle of Wight. In January 2010 following a service she was re-painted into the standard red and white Red Funnel colour scheme when the deal came to an end.
It has recently been confirmed that like her sister ship, the Red Falcon, the Red Osprey will be refurbished. She will be upgraded in a similar fashion to Red Falcon, but with improvements based on customer recommendations. She was taken out of service for refit in January 2015, and returned to service in April 2015.
