Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry.
Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes across The Solent between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England. It operates car ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth, and Portsmouth and Fishbourne and a fast passenger-only catamaran between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier. The company is jointly owned by Basalt Infrastructure Partners based in the United Kingdom and Fiera Infrastructure based in Canada.
Red Funnel, the trading name of the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, 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.
Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland.
Hythe Pier, the Hythe Pier Railway and the Hythe Ferry provide a link between the English port city of Southampton and the Hampshire village of Hythe on the west side of Southampton Water. It is used both by commuters and tourists, and forms an important link in the Solent Way and E9 European coastal paths.
MV Balmoral is a vintage excursion ship owned by MV Balmoral Fund Ltd., a preservation charity. Her principal area of operation is the Bristol Channel, although she also operates day excursions to other parts of the United Kingdom. The Balmoral is included on the National Historic Ships register as part of the National Historic Fleet.
The Cowes Floating Bridge is a vehicular chain ferry which crosses the River Medina on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The ferry crosses the tidal river from East Cowes to Cowes. The first floating bridge between the two towns was established in 1859 and the crossing is one of the few remaining that has not been replaced by a physical bridge. The service is owned and operated by the Isle of Wight Council, which has run it since 1901. Prior to ownership by the local authority the service was run by The Floating Bridge Company and The Steam Packet Company. The ferry currently used is named No. 6, the sixth to be owned by the Isle of Wight Council, and ninth in total. It was built in 2017 and can carry up to 20 cars. The Cowes floating bridge remains the only way to cross the River Medina between the towns without taking a ten-mile trip via Newport. The current vessel was installed on 14 May 2017, but after a string of technical issues the service was suspended by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and a passenger-only replacement service provided by a small launch. After several months of service suspension and intermittent operation, full service finally resumed early in 2018.
The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and operated by Associated British Ports since 1982, and is the busiest cruise terminal and second largest container port in the UK. The volume of port traffic categorises Southampton as a Medium-Port City globally.
There are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England. These are Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel.
MV Red Eagle 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. The largest of its class, Red Eagle is the current flagship for Red Funnel.
MV Red Falcon 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.
MV Red Jet 4 is a passenger catamaran ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight, along with sister ships Red Jet 6 and Red Jet 7.
MV Schiopparello Jet is a passenger catamaran ferry, formerly known as Bo Hengy and Red Jet 5. She operates on routes from Tuscany to the Tuscan archipelago on behalf of ferry operator Toremar. She was built in 1999.
TSS T/T Calshot is a tug tender built in 1929 by John I Thornycroft & Co, and completed in 1930 for the Red Funnel Line. Calshot is one of only three surviving classical tender ships which served the great ocean liners. In her career, Calshot has tendered some of the most famous ocean liners ever built, such as the RMS Caronia, the Cunard Queens RMS Queen Elizabeth and RMS Queen Mary, the SS United States, and the White Star Line ship RMS Olympic. During World War II she was requisitioned by the British Admiralty for servicing troop ships and took part in D-Day. She is a registered vessel of the National Historic Fleet of the United Kingdom, holding Certificate No. 1.
This article describes the shipping services of the London and South Western Railway and the vessels employed.
Sis is a car / passenger ferry owned and operated by Jadrolinija in Croatia, where she operates between Zadar and the island of Ugljan. The vessel was previously known as Netley Castle when operated by Red Funnel on services to the Isle of Wight in the UK.
Blue Funnel Group refers to a related set of companies providing boat charter, cruise and ferry services around the Solent and Isle of Wight in vessels up to 500 passengers. The Blue Funnel Cruises operating out of Southampton Port and the Solent and Wightline Cruises operating out of Portsmouth and Cowes as well as Blue Funnel Ferries Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry operations are all run independently but co-operatively.
MV Red Jet 7 is a British high speed catamaran ferry operated by the ferry company Red Funnel on its Southampton-Cowes route, alongside the company's other current Red Jets 4 and 6. Constructed on site at the Wight Shipyard where Red Jet 6 was also built, it has been built to a similar specification as its predecessor. Red Jet 7 was launched on 6 June 2018 and underwent system tests prior to being placed into service for 24 July 2018, in time for the surge in traffic over Cowes Week.
MV Victoria of Wight is a ship sailing on the Portsmouth to Fishbourne route operated by Wightlink. She entered service on 26 August 2018. Built by the Cemre Shipyard in Yalova for £30 million, she is the newest ship in the fleet and completed Wightlink's £45 million investment in the Portsmouth to Fishbourne route. In addition, upon introduction into service Victoria of Wight became the largest ship in the fleet and the new flagship.
MV Red Kestrel is a freight ferry built by Cammell Laird for Red Funnel for use on its Southampton to East Cowes service. She was launched on 19 February 2019 and entered service in May 2019 after completing her sea trials.
Red Funnel 
