Red Jet 6

{{short description|Isle of Wight passenger catamaran ferry}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

MV Red Jet 6 is a high-speed catamaran ferry constructed for Red Funnel in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight as the sixth member of the company's Red Jet line of catamarans.

Red Funnel announced in May 2015 that they had placed an order for the £6 million vessel with Wight Shipyard of East Cowes, making Red Jet 6 the first high-speed ferry built in the United Kingdom in 15 years. Red Jet 6 was constructed in East Cowes's former aircraft hangar, originally built for the Saunders-Roe aircraft company. She entered service in mid 2016.{{cite web | url=http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/red-funnel-reveals-plan-for-red-jet-6-to-be-built-on-the-isle-of-wight-83027.aspx | title=Red Funnel reveals plan for Red Jet 6 — to be built on the Isle of Wight | publisher=Isle of Wight County Press| date=27 May 2015 | access-date=30 August 2015 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529194433/http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/red-funnel-reveals-plan-for-red-jet-6-to-be-built-on-the-isle-of-wight-83027.aspx | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 May 2015}}

Red Jet 6 is {{convert|41.12|m|ftin}} long, with a passenger capacity of 275. She is powered by four MTU series 2000 diesel engines, each powering a waterjet for propulsion and steering giving a service speed of {{convert|38|kn|lk=in}}, allowing a crossing time of 23 minutes. She can operate with one engine out with only a minor reduction in speed.{{cite web|title=Red Funnel Catamaran Powered by MTU Engines|url=http://www.marinelink.com/news/catamaran-powered-engines412092.aspx|website=MarineLink|date=July 2016 |accessdate=4 July 2016}}

Red Jet 6 was named by Anne, Princess Royal at a ceremony at East Cowes on 4 July 2016.{{cite news|title=Royal naming for new Red Jet 6 passenger ferry|work=BBC News|date=4 July 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-36701470|accessdate=4 July 2016}} On 29 June 2017, Red Jet 6 set a new record for the circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight by multihulls, starting and finishing at the Royal Yacht Squadron starting line at Cowes, taking 1 hr, 17 mins, 17 secs at an average speed of {{convert|39.42|kn}}.{{cite web|title=Red Funnel's Red Jet 6 sets Isle of Wight round-the-island record|url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/15384694.Ferry_sets_round_the_island_record/|website=Southern Daily Echo|date=2 July 2017 |access-date=5 January 2018}}