MV Cuthred
.jpg) As Mira Praia
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Cuthred |
| Operator |
|
| Route | 1969-1987 Portsmouth–Fishbourne |
| Builder | Richards (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Lowestoft[2] |
| Launched | 3 June 1969 |
| In service | 28 June 1969 |
| Out of service | 2009 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6920238[1] |
| Fate | Remains laid up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Roll-on/roll-off Car & Passenger Ferry |
| Tonnage | 704 Gross, 357 Net, 155 Deadweight. |
| Displacement | 537 light |
| Length | 190.0ft |
| Beam | 51.6ft |
| Draught | 6.50ft |
MV Cuthred was an Isle of Wight roll-on/roll-off ferry built in 1969. From 1990 until 2009, she operated as Mira Praia in Portugal.
History[edit]
MV Cuthred was built by Richards of Lowestoft for British Rail (later Sealink) at a cost of £275,000 (equivalent to about £5,717,000 in 2023).[3] She is named after Cuthred, king of Wessex (c.740–56). With a gross tonnage of 704, she was the largest Isle of Wight Ferry of the time, capable of carrying 48 cars and 400 passengers.[3]
Layout[edit]
Her design was unique, but formed the basis for the three sisters, MV Cenred, Cenwulf and Caedmon, built in 1973.[4]
Propulsion was by means of two Voith Schneider cycloidal propellers mounted on diagonally opposite corners of the hull, each one being driven by a Paxman 8RPHCM turbocharged V8 diesel engine of 378 bhp (282 kW) at 900rpm.[3]
Service[edit]
She ran on the route until 1986, when Sealink ownership passed to Sea Containers. She was laid up in 1987 at Lymington for nearly 2 years. During 1989 she was sold to Open Leisure for use on the Tyne.[5]
She remains laid up near Setubal to this day, slowly decaying, just a couple of miles from the route she served for almost 19 years.[6]
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ "Ship Index: M". World Shipping Register. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ "Richards Shipbuilders". Sea Agent. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ a b c "History". Wightlink. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ Dave Rowland. "MV "Cuthred"". Retrieved 20 May 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Isle of Wight Services: Car Ferries". Ian Boyle/Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ^ "Caedmon Cenred Cenwulf Cuthred - Remembering the C-Class ferries and their near sister".