MV Cenwulf

MV Cenwulf
History
United Kingdom
NameMV Cenwulf
OperatorWightlink
BuilderRobb Caledon Shipbuilders, Dundee
Yard number561[1]
Launched1 June 1973[1]
CompletedJuly 1973
In service1973
Out of serviceMarch 2009
Identification
FateBroken up 2010 in Esbjerg, Denmark
General characteristics
TypeCar Passenger Ferry
Tonnage761 GRT; 175 DWT[1]
Length58.00 m (190.3 ft)
Beam15.7 m (51.5 ft)[1]
Draught2.28 m (7.5 ft)
Propulsion2x 400bhp 6cyl Mirrlees Blackstone ERS6M turbocharged diesel engines driving Voith Schneider cycloidal propellers
Speed10.00 knots
Capacity
  • 512 passengers
  • 58 cars

MV Cenwulf was one of Wightlink's 'C' class vehicle and passenger ferries on their route from Lymington to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

History

Cenwulf was built in 1973 by Robb Caledon Shipbuilders Ltd in Dundee, Scotland, for Sealink Isle of Wight. The ship was named 'Cenwulf' after Coenwulf of Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon king of the Mercians from 796. Her maiden sailing was on 18 October 1973, when she replaced the 1938-built MV Lymington on the Lymington to Yarmouth route.[3]

In 1990 ownership passed to Wightlink after the privatisation of Sealink in 1984.[4]

Along with sister 'C' class ships MV Caedmon and MV Cenred operating the Lymington to Yarmouth ferry service, she was withdrawn with the introduction of the new Wight class ferries, MV Wight Light, MV Wight Sky and MV Wight Sun.[5] Laid up at Marchwood in 2009,[1], Cenwulf was sold for scrapping. In March 2010 she was towed to Esbjerg, Denmark. A short time later, she was broken up.

Layout

Above the car deck were passenger accommodation and navigation bridge. Fore and aft ramps allowed full ro-ro operation. In the late 1970s hydraulically operated mezzanine decks were fitted to increase her car capacity.[3]

Service

Cenwulf operated the Lymington to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight ferry service from 1973 to 2009, initially with sister ship Cenred and joined by Caedmon in 1983.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d "Search results for "7320021"". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  2. ^ "Ships Index: C". World Shipping Register. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Our fleet today - Cenwulf". Wightlink. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  4. ^ "History". Wightlink. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  5. ^ Richard Wright (17 July 2008). "New ferry makes third ship for route". Isle of Wight County Press. Retrieved 29 March 2009.