MV ''Cenwulf'' was one of

Wightlink Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes across The Solent between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England. It operates Roll-on/roll-off, car ferries between Lymington and Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, Yarmouth, and Portsmouth a ...

's 'C' class vehicle and passenger ferries on their route from

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest (district), New Forest district of Hampshire, England. The town faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a Roll-on/roll-off, car ferry s ...

to Yarmouth on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

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 Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; ) was the List of monarchs of Mercia, king of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba of Mercia, Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. ...

, an Anglo-Saxon king of the Mercians from 796. Her maiden sailing was on 18 October 1973, when she replaced the 1938-built on the

to Yarmouth route. In 1990 ownership passed to

after the privatisation of Sealink in 1984. Along with sister 'C' class ships and operating the Lymington to Yarmouth ferry service, she was withdrawn with the introduction of the new Wight class ferries, , and . Laid up at

Marchwood Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, England. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water and directly east of the New Forest. The population of the village in the 2011 census was 6, ...

in 200

''Cenwulf'' was sold for scrapping. In March 2010 she was towed to

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

, 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 Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

operation. In the late 1970s hydraulically operated mezzanine decks were fitted to increase her car capacity.

Service

''Cenwulf'' operated the

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Yarmouth is a town, port and civil parish in the west of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river. The town grew near the river crossing, originally a fer ...

ferry service from 1973 to 2009, initially with sister ship ''Cenred'' and joined by ''Caedmon'' in 1983.

Footnotes

External links

Wightlink Website
– Wightlink.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Cenwulf Ferries of England Ferry transport on the Isle of Wight 1973 ships