catamaran red jet 3 passes cowes parade trading name red funnel industry transport founded 1861 headquarters bugle street southampton uk 1 area served southampton cowes southampton east cowes brands red funnel red jet red funnel holidays steam coffee company revenue 45 369 000 2014 2 operating income 14 292 000 2014 2 net income 9 746 000 2014 2 total assets 44 629 000 2014 2 total equity 39 423 000 2014 2 owner infracapital partners lp infrastructure fund of the prudential number of employees 500 parent red funnel group ltd. website http www.redfunnel.co.uk footnotes references red funnel s house flag red funnel formally the southampton isle of wight and south of england royal mail steam packet company limited 3 is a ferry company that carries passengers vehicles and freight on routes between the english mainland and the isle of wight . high speed foot passenger catamarans known as red jets run between southampton and cowes while vehicle ferries run between southampton and east cowes . red funnel s main competitor is wightlink whose services operate from portsmouth to fishbourne and ryde and from lymington to yarmouth . the other major solent ferry company hovertravel operates between southsea and ryde . both provide a frequent service to the isle of wight but neither normally serve southampton cowes or east cowes . contents 1 history 1.1 the house flag 2 notable events 3 current fleet 4 retired fleet 4.1 classic ferries 4.1.1 paddle steamers 4.1.2 twin screw steamers 4.1.3 motor vessels 4.2 car ferries 4.3 fast passenger ferries 4.3.1 hovercraft 4.3.2 hydrofoils 4.3.3 red jets 4.4 tugs and tug tenders 4.5 medina crossing 5 onboard facilities 6 references 7 external links history edit the company s seal . red funnel s previous solent logo 4 used between 1969 and 2001 . red jet 3 at full speed june 2013 . the origins of red funnel date back to 1820 when the isle of wight royal mail steam packet company was established by cowes interests to operate the first steamer service from there to southampton . in 1826 the isle of wight steam packet company was formed in southampton and by the following year the two companies had started co ordinating their operations . in 1860 the southampton isle of wight & portsmouth improved steamboat company was created to compete with the two established operators and the threat posed caused the two older companies to merge . they subsequently acquired the assets of the improved steamboat company in 1865 . 5 formed in 1861 and called the southampton isle of wight and south of england royal mail steam packet company limited the merged company s name remains the longest for a registered company in the united kingdom . the shortened name red funnel was adopted after 1935 when all the company s ships had a black topped red funnel . the longer name remains the company s formal name . the company originally operated a paddle steamer ferry service between cowes isle of wight and southampton . during its history the company has operated other routes connecting the isle of wight and the english mainland together with a sizable excursion steamer business along the south coast of england including day trips from the isle of wight to france but today services are concentrated on two routes . in 1931 it introduced its first diesel ferry the mv medina . ferries have steadily increased in size to the current scottish built raptor class operated between east cowes and town quay in southampton . between 1969 and the 1990 the company also ran italian built hydrofoils between town quay and cowes . this route is now served by high speed passenger only catamarans . in 1867 red funnel instituted a service crossing the river medina between cowes and east cowes . this service was operated by a series of small launches over the years . the service ceased on the outbreak of war in 1939 when the vessels involved were requisitioned by the admiralty . in 1868 the company took over the cowes floating bridge company and operated the floating bridge until 1901 . 6 in 1885 the company bought the new southampton steam towing company and operated tugs and tenders under the subsidiary red funnel towage . in 2002 red funnel towage was sold to adsteam later passing to svitzer marine . 7 in 1946 red funnel acquired a controlling interest in cosens & co ltd a rival pleasure steamer operator based in weymouth . this enabled the combined company to coordinate their excursions and also gave red funnel access to the cosens marine engineering and ship repair facilities . excursions came to end in 1966 but the engineering side continued until sold off in 1990 to a management buy out . 8 in 2001 the company was sold to jp morgan partners inc. now ccmp capital by associated british ports holdings which had acquired the company in 1989 as a white knight to fend off a hostile takeover by sally lines . in 2004 the company was sold again in a management buy out backed by the bank of scotland for 60 million . on 12 april 2007 the owners of red funnel who include hbos announced that they were considering selling red funnel . 9 in june of the same year the company was sold to the prudential s infrastructure specialist infracapital in a deal valuing the business at more than 200m . the house flag edit the house flag was inspired by the names of the early paddle steamers sapphire emerald ruby and pearl . a simple rhyme was the guide to flying it correctly blue to mast green to fly red on deck white to sky . 4 6 notable events edit the red eagle collided with humber energy in the thorne channel near southampton water on the evening of 21 december 2006 . 10 coastguards said nobody was injured and neither vessel was badly damaged . richard pellew of the maritime and coastguard agency said having examined the minor damage sustained to the red eagle we are advising red funnel on the repair work the ferry needs before it can resume normal service . on 10 march 2006 the car ferry red falcon collided with the linkspan at the southampton town quay terminal . 11 eight passengers and one crew member were injured and significant damage was caused to the southampton end of the red falcon and to the linkspan . the collision caused a 5 metre 16 ft hole above the waterline and buckling of the car deck doors . the accident occurred 9 years and 1 day after the red falcon collided with the dredger volvox hansa in southampton water with limited visibility due to fog . citation needed current fleet edit vehicle ferries status route mv red falcon in service southampton east cowes mv red osprey in service southampton east cowes mv red eagle in service southampton east cowes all three vessels were built by ferguson shipbuilders of port glasgow and entered service between 1994 and 1996 . between 2003 and 2005 the ferries were refitted and extended both in length and height by the polish workers of remontowa s.a. in gda sk poland . 12 this was following a corporate decision driven by tom docherty to maximise summer operating capacity taking the previous capacity from around 100 ceus to 213 ceu during 2014 mv red falcon underwent a 2.2 million refurbishment which saw the interior and facilities replaced with a bright and new modern look . 13 due to success and increase of passengers on their services during 2014 it was confirmed that mv red osprey would also receive a 2.2 million refurbishment . 14 like her sister ship the red osprey was refitted and relaunched almost exactly a year later . the mv red eagle is also expected to be refurbished at the end of 2015 . red jet status route red jet 3 in service southampton cowes red jet 4 in service southampton cowes red jet 5 in service southampton cowes red jet 6 crew training southampton cowes red jet 3 was built new for red funnel by fbm marine of cowes in 1998 . she was followed in 2003 by the somewhat larger red jet 4 a new building by north west bay ships of tasmania . red jet 5 by contrast was a second hand acquisition in 2009 ; she was originally built in 1999 by pequot river shipworks of connecticut to the same fbm design as red jet 3 . 15 this vessel was previously known as the bo hengy and was operated by bahamas ferries until 2008 . 16 red funnel have taken delivery of a new 40 metre high speed catamaran constructed in east cowes by shemara refit llp . 17 named by the princess royal on 4 july 2016 red jet 6 is expected to be in service later in the summer . 18 retired fleet edit classic ferries edit 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 . 19 20 21 22 23 paddle steamers edit 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 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 and 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 . 24 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 . 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 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 edit ship service notes tss upton 1946 1950 purchased from birkenhead corporation tss robina 1948 1949 purchased from coast lines ltd motor vessels edit the balmoral in waverley excursions ownership ship service notes mv medina iii 1931 1962 the first diesel engined ferry on the solent mv vecta i 1938 1965 sold to p & a campbell renamed westward ho mv norris castle ii 1947 1962 ex lct 828 mv balmoral ii 1949 1969 purchased by p & a campbell in 1968 and ran with them until 1980 . in 1981