MV ''Schiopparello Jet'' is a passenger

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

ferry, formerly known as ''Bo Hengy'' and ''Red Jet 5''. She operates on routes from

Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ov ...

to the

Tuscan archipelago The Tuscan Archipelago is a chain of islands between the Ligurian Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea, west of Tuscany, Italy. The islands' proximity to several major cities has made them a favourite tourist location. History and literature have ensured that ...

on behalf of ferry operator

Toremar 240px, ''Rio Marina Bella'' and ''Liburna'' in Livorno Toremar (Toscana Regionale Marittima) is an Italian shipping company which operates in routes from Tuscany to the Tuscan archipelago. On 3 November 2009 the Transport Minister Altero Matteo ...

(''Toscana Regionale Marittima''). She was built in 1999. ''Schiopparello Jet'' is a sister ship to '' Red Jet 3'', a catamaran designed and built by FBM Marine 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 ...

for operation by Red Funnel. However, unlike her sister ship, she was built in the United States. She is distinguished from her sister by having a sheltered sundeck.

History

''Bo Hengy''

Built as the ''Bo Hengy'' for Bahamas Ferries, the vessel was constructed at the Pequot River Shipworks in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

in 1999. She was retired in 2008. Bahamas Ferries now operates a larger catamaran called ''Bo Hengy II''.

''Red Jet 5''

Following purchase by Red Funnel the vessel was transported to Southampton by heavy lift ship arriving 11 June 2009. The vessel was then towed to

Portchester Portchester is a village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is northwest of Portsmouth and around 18 miles east of Southampton on the A27 road. Its population according to the 2011 United Kingdom census was 17,789. Name Portc ...

to be refurbished with an internal layout based on ''Red Jet 4''. The work was carried out by Testbank along with Coastal and Burgess Marine. The ship was officially named ''Red Jet 5'' by Shirley Robertson on 21 July 2009, entering service about a week later as a replacement for '' Red Jet 1'' and '' Red Jet 2'', working alongside her sister ship ''Red Jet 3'' and half-sister '' Red Jet 4''. During the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, ''Red Jet 5'' was chartered to

Thames Clippers Uber Boat by Thames Clippers is a set of river bus services on the River Thames in London, England. The company operates both commuter services between eastern and Central London and tourist services under licence from London River Services. ...

for use as a games shuttle on the Thames. In 2015, Red Funnel announced that she would be replaced by a new ship, '' Red Jet 6'', to be constructed at

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. It has a population of 8,428 according to the United Kingdom Census ...

. Once the latter was brought into service in summer 2016, ''Red Jet 5'' was retired and sold.

''Schiopparello Jet''

The vessel was sold to

and renamed ''Schiopparello Jet''. She is used on services from

, on the Tuscan mainland, to

Portoferraio Portoferraio () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour of the island of Elba. It is the island's largest town. Because of its terrain, many of its buildings are situated on the slopes of a tiny h ...

, on the island of Elba. Services operate via

Cavo Cavo is an American hard rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Because of their sound and musical influences, they are sometimes classified as post-grunge as well as alt rock. Band history In late 2000, guitarist Chris Hobbs, bassist Ryan Kem ...

, also on the island of Elba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiopparello Jet Ferries of England Ferries of Italy Ferries of the Bahamas Individual catamarans 1999 ships Ships of Red Funnel Ferry transport on the Isle of Wight