MV Cuthred
Former car and passenger ferry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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- 1969-1987 British Rail/Sealink/Wightlink
- 1990-2009 Transado
As Mira Praia | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Cuthred |
| Operator |
|
| Route | 1969–1987 Portsmouth–Fishbourne |
| Builder | Richards (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Lowestoft[1] |
| Launched | 3 June 1969 |
| In service | 28 June 1969 |
| Out of service | 2009 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6920238[2] |
| Fate | Remains laid up |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Roll-on/roll-off Car & Passenger Ferry |
| Tonnage | 704 Gross, 357 Net, 155 Deadweight. |
| Displacement | 537 light |
| Length | 190.0ft |
| Beam | 51.6ft |
| Draught | 6.50ft |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2x Voith Schneider 14EG/90 cycloidal propellers |
| Speed | 10 knots |
History
MV Cuthred was built by Richards of Lowestoft for British Rail (later Sealink) at a cost of £275,000 (equivalent to about £3,996,000 in 2025).[3] 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.[3]
Layout
Her design was unique, but formed the basis for the three sisters, MV Cenred, Cenwulf and Caedmon, built in 1973.[4]
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.[3]
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.[5]
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.[6]