MV St Faith

St Faith outbound from Portsmouth Harbour 27 June 2013.
History
Name: MV St Faith
Operator: Wightlink
Port of registry: London
Builder: Cochrane Shipbuilders Ltd, Selby
Launched: 28 February 1990
In service: 1990
Identification:
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type: Car Passenger Ferry
Tonnage: 3009 GRT[1]
Length: 77.05 metres (252.8 ft)
Beam: 17.2 metres (56 ft)
Draught: 2.48 metres (8 ft 2 in)
Installed power: 3x 850bhp 6-cyl MAN 6ASL25 diesel engines
Propulsion: 3x Voith Schneider cycloidal propellers
Speed: 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Capacity:
  • 722 passengers
  • 142 cars
  • 12 lorries
Crew: 10-12

MV St Faith is a vehicle and passenger ferry operated by Wightlink on their route from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. As with fellow Wightlink ship St Cecilia, there are also plans to increase St Faith′s capacity by increasing her size by 12 metres.[2]

The ship was built in 1990 for the Portsmouth to Fishbourne route, the route she has taken throughout her life. St Faith is the second youngest of Wightlink's 'St Class' ships, after St Clare. The name is taken from St Faith's church, Cowes.

Incidents

Hitting hard

On 28 May 2010, it was reported that on arrival at Portsmouth, the MV St Faith landed heavily with the dock injuring two passengers and causing minor damage. Following the accident the vessel was temporarily withdrawn from service and paramedics called as a precaution.[3][4]

Breakdown in the middle of the Solent

On 28 February 2015 the St Faith suffered an engine failure in the middle of the Solent around 20 minutes into the 8am crossing to the Isle of Wight. The captain decided to return to Portsmouth. The tug, SD Bountiful, towed the 25-year-old ferry back to the Gunwharf Quays terminal.The crew switched to St Helen (since retired) to continue the service. She returned to service on 13 March 2015.

Mid-Solent Fire

On 19 January 2017 a fire broke out in an air conditioning unit on the port side of St Faith's bridge whilst mid-Solent. The blaze was swiftly dealt with by the crew. 65 people were on board the ferry at the time of the incident but there were no casualties.[5]

2 fire appliances from Ryde Fire Station were sent to the scene at Wightlink's Fishbourne ferry terminal alongside the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service's Incident Support Unit from East Cowes. Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team, the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service and Police also attended the incident.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Nick Widdows, [1998] Ferries of the British Isles & Northern Europe; Ferry Publications
  2. ↑ "Wightlink - St Faith". www.wightlink.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  3. ↑ "Passengers hurt in ferry crash". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  4. ↑ "Two hurt as Isle of Wight ferry hits Portsmouth dock". BBC News. 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  5. ↑ Schuler, Mike (January 19, 2017). "Ferry Evacuated After Fire in the Solent". Maritime Executive. The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency says it was notified at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday that a fire had broken out on the Wightlink ferry St Faith while en route from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. The vessel continued to the ferry terminal in Fishbourne where a fire fighting crews were able to extinguished the fire. All 65 passengers who were on board the ferry were evacuated and all are reported safe.
  6. ↑ "BLACK SMOKE BILLOWS FROM WIGHTLINK FERRY". Island Echo. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
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