The latest addition to the British Red Funnel ferry fleet, ‘Red Jet 6’, completed its first sea trials in June 2016 and will go into service in July. The high-speed catamaran ferry was built in Britain by Shemara Refit on the Isle of Wight with Rolls-Royce supplying four MTU Type 10V 2000 M72 engines and ZF Type 3050D gearboxes.
Red Jet 6 is the most modern vessel in the Red Funnel fleet. Powered by four 900 kilowatt Series 2000 MTU engines, the catamaran is capable of service speeds up to 38 knots and has twice as many engines as it’s three sister ships which are also powered by MTU.
Peter Morton, Managing Director at Shemara Refit LLP explained: “We increased the number of engines from two to four to enhance redundancy. If the need arises, the engines can be shut down individually and the ferry can maintain the service running on three engines with only minor reduction in speed”
Each of the MTU engines powers a waterjet while the ZF gearboxes ensure smooth transmission of power.
Red Funnel’s Mark Slawson, Fleet & Technical Director said: “The benefits of the quad propulsion package fitted to Red Jet 6 will be reduced fuel consumption and fewer cancellations to remove waterjet obstructions.”
Together with a combination of various design features, the vessel’s engines mean it is significantly more fuel-efficient than its sister vessels Red Jet 3, Red Jet 4 and Red Jet 5. The new catamaran is certified with the environmental management standard ISO 1400:1 and is the greenest ship in the fleet. At over 40 metres in length and able to carry up to 275 passengers, Red Jet 6 is also the largest vessel in Red Funnel’s high-speed fleet.
Bruce Phillips, Managing Director at MTU UK said: “Red Jet 6 is the first vessel of its kind to be built in Great Britain in the last 15 years. We are very pleased with the results of our first joint project with Shemara Refit. Construction of Red Jet 6 has been an impressive process and we are delighted to have supplied MTU power to this new high-speed vessel.”
By Jake Frith
