Wightlink’s new flagship Victoria of Wight is now on the water

We will be using sustainable hybrid battery power in our new ship alongside conventional marine gas oil. This will reduce our carbon footprint and we expect it will also make the ship quieter to operate. While this exciting innovation will make our new ship the most environmentally friendly in the Solent, it is a tried and tested technology. Three ferries operated by Caledonian MacBrayne in Scotland already use hybrid power.

Red Funnel use a doubledeck system at Southampton and East Cowes. Other examples can also be seen at the Portsmouth International Port, Dover, Cairnryan, Belfast,

Terminal lights will be low level to avoid light pollution as far as possible. Double deck loading will reduce the length of time car engines are running. The introduction of double deck loading will also reduce the noise currently associated with moveable car decks.

There are lots of reasons why this isn’t a practical option. At the moment, we operate a round trip to and from Fishbourne in just two hours. Using Portsmouth International Port, this would take three hours. We would need extra fuel to make the longer journey, so fares would inevitably rise. To maintain our lifeline service to the Isle of Wight and carry the same amount of traffic, we would have to buy larger ships. Our timetables would be frequently disrupted by the harbour closures caused by Royal Navy ships (delays which cross-Channel ferries can make up on their much longer sailings, but which would affect our customers more severely)

We received more than 30 tenders for the work from shipyards around the world. We made our decision based on quality, price and delivery schedules and chose the experienced Cemre shipyard in Turkey. BAE Systems in Portsmouth did not submit a tender.

No, and we have no plans to accommodate trailers on our terminals

We are keeping Fishbourne Parish Council and ward councillor Ivor Warlow fully briefed on the progress of our plans as well as updating this webpage when we have news to report.

There are several reasons why we expect the new facilities to be quieter. At all times, lorries will only use the lower deck of the loading area, which will be screened and so noise will be minimised. The introduction of double deck loading will reduce the noise currently associated with moveable car decks on the ferries.

Drivers of all vehicles entering Wightlink’s Gunwharf terminal will be able to wait for their sailing in a much larger area than at present. The new boarding lanes will have space for three ships’ worth of traffic. This means cars, vans and lorries will not cause congestion in Gunwharf Road if there are any delays. In addition, we won’t need to use the car park over the road to store and marshal vehicles as much as we do now.

We expect pedestrians will not notice any change. We will only be carrying a maximum of 27 more cars than at present on our largest vessels (the new ship and St Clare) and then only on the busiest sailings such as school holiday weekends.

We have worked closely with planners at Portsmouth City Council and heritage experts and the ramp leading to part of the upper deck will resemble the nearby historic dockyard wall. Throughout the process, we have done our best to make our development fit in with our surroundings in old Portsmouth.

We will do our best to make sure the new ramp blends into the environment at Fishbourne. We will not be putting advertisements on it and we welcome suggestions from local people about what colour we should paint it.

Although some of our neighbours have suggested a new layout for the terminal entrance, we did not include this proposal on our application drawings as we do not own the relevant land. However, we are always happy to consider ideas to improve our facilities and will take suggestions on board if we can.

While this is a matter for Island Roads, we would be happy to support residents, if we can.