Red Funnel's Hi-Speed passenger catamaran, Red Jet 7, celebrated one year of service in the Solent on Thursday 17 July.
Since it joined the Isle of Wight ferry fleet in July last year, Red Jet 7 has travelled over 84,000 nautical miles, completed 3,615 round trips and nearly half a million passenger journeys, to date spending almost 3,000 hours at sea.
Red Jet 7, like its sister, Red Jet 6, was built on the Isle of Wight by Wight Shipyard Co. representing a £7m investment by Red Funnel. It was launched at a prestigious naming ceremony, with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall breaking the traditional bottle of champagne on the bow.
Red Jet 7 is the greenest ferry within the Red Jet group. It uses new technology to reduce the environmental footprint, and at four tons lighter than Red Jet 6, has improved fuel consumption which further reduces emissions.
Commenting on the one-year anniversary of Red Jet 7, Red Funnel chief executive, Fran Collins, said: 'The launch of Red Jet 7 was another proud day in Red Funnel's history. We take great pride in our commitment to supporting British shipbuilding and are particularly proud of the fact that it was built on the Island, for the Island, utilising the skills of more than 85 Island-based expert craftsmen.
'In its first 12 months of operation, Red Jet 7 has earned a reliability score of 99 per cent and a punctuality score of 93 per cent, meaning that 99 per cent of all our scheduled crossings went ahead as planned and 93 per cent of crossings departed and arrived on time, with the majority of the shortfall due to adverse weather conditions such as fog and strong winds.
'Overall, it's had a very successful first year and we look forward to many more, especially as we now head into our summer season and concurrently mark another big anniversary – 50 years of hi-speed service, which we're marking with The Red Funnel Fireworks at Cowes Week on the 16th of August. We can't wait!'
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