MV Cuthred

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

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). 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.

Layout

Her design was unique, but formed the basis for the three sisters, MV Cenred, Cenwulf and Caedmon, built in 1973.

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.

Service

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.

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.

Footnotes

1. Cuthred
2. Wightlink
3. MV Caedmon
4. Isle of Wight ferry services
5. British Railways ships
6. Timeline of Cornish history