Wight Shipyard Co in East Cowes has secured a £6.3 million order to build two new passenger boats for MBNA Thames Clippers. It’s the largest fast passenger ferry order for a UK shipyard in over 25 years. The building of the new 170 capacity passenger boats will see the creation of 75 new jobs across the Isle of Wight and London. It’s the largest ever order for the recently rebranded Wight Shipyard Co (WSC), formerly known as Shemara Refit. The two new boats will enter service in the summer of 2017.
Peter Morton CEO of Wight Shipyard Co. says:
“Wight Shipyard is delighted to be awarded the contract to build two new 35 metre high speed ferries for MBNA Thames Clippers. The company operates a large fleet of high profile ferries on the River Thames and this new order signifies that use of the river as a means of commuter transport is growing quickly.
“We are particularly pleased that these are the first high speed ferries to be built for the company in England as in the past all new MBNA Thames Clippers fast craft have been built in Australia. Having successfully completed the 40 metre Red Jet 6 for the Red Funnel Group we are confident that we will deliver high quality ferries for MBNA Thames Clippers and look forward to a long partnership with them.”
