Mindzle

Ever thought that it was possible to see a green cat – and I am not referring to some pampered pussy that’s passed its sell-by date. I am talking about roaring tigers – the two new Eco-friendly Catamarans commissioned by Wightlink ferries, and built in the Philippines by FBMA Marine.

The first of the new fleet of two catamarans was launched in the Philippines recently and after a successful period of sea trials, was given the green light. The vessels were named Wight Ryder1 and 2 respectively after the company held and internal competition. The winner of the competition, Mike Bristow, was an employee of the company based at Ryde Pier head, and claimed to have got the inspiration from ‘watching too many American programmes’.

But aside from the obvious aesthetic quality of the vessels, the thing that has really impressed the industry is the operational efficiency that has been worked into the design. Originally designed by Southampton based boat designer, BMT Nigel Gee, the new catamarans have been given greater stability during the journey, and improved berthing facilities. Both of these points have greatly reduced the anticipated cancellations, and have therefore improved the service on offer. Andrew Wilson, Chief Executive of Wightlink commented:  “Reliability is our overriding objective and, with these advantages, the new craft should enable Wightlink to reduce the instances of weather-related cancellations that affect the existing service.”

The key to the improved performance, and the reason the designers can lay claim to the environmentally-friendly credentials is the new advance electronic management system. This, it is claimed, will result in fuel savings of around 1.3 million litres per annum, compared with the existing FastCats vessels, with a reduction in emissions equivalent to over 3.4 million kg CO2.

But how does this translate to the ordinary man in the street? It is a clean and simple service, or do people encounter problems that end up resulting in the undoing of all the best practices established by the vessels themselves? I decided that the best way to find this out, was to take a trip on the ‘cats’ myself.

I arrived in the city of Portsmouth by car, not a good start I know, but I wanted to see how well the area was signposted. I was not disappointed. Both the regular car ferry service and the catamarans are well signposted, an important factor when you consider the extra petrol consumption used on futile searching for your destination. When approaching by rail, a much more sensible option, you will find the docking point of the catamarans immediately outside Portsmouth Harbour station. After a short walk, you are ready to board the catamaran, which runs a service every 30 minutes. The journey itself, takes only 18 minutes, but as you leave the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, you can’t help but think of the historical magnitude of the area; the fleets that have previously left for battle and the famous commanders of those fleets like Nelson.

Your destination is the historical Ryde Pier head, where the Cats are moored. Ryde Pier is quite long, about a quarter of a mile, but providing you are up to the walk, this is another great way of saving costs and therefore energy. A service is available for disabled and senior passengers, but I preferred to walk and take in the emerging view of the town ahead of me. All in all, I was impressed by the service offered by these vessels and the way that the ferry company, Wightlink, have integrated it into their system. It indicates to me, that they are serious about issues concerning the environment, which I hope in time will spread to the larger car-carrying vessels.

Bio

Peter is an internet marketer and SEO, and enjoys writing about issues that concern the environment, and travel and accommodation on the Isle of Wight.