MV Cuthred

File:Ferry-Boat de Setúbal-Tróia VI (cropped).jpg As Mira Praia
History
File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
Name	MV Cuthred
Operator	1969-1987 British Rail/Sealink/Wightlink 1990-2009 Transado
Route	1969–1987 Portsmouth–Fishbourne
Builder	Richards (Shipbuilders) Ltd, Lowestoft
Launched	3 June 1969
In service	28 June 1969
Out of service	2009
Identification	IMO number: 6920238
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	Two Paxman 8RPHCM V8 turbocharged diesels, each 378bhp@900rpm. One Ruston 6YEZ diesel engine driving a generator Two main engine driven generators.
Propulsion	2x Voith Schneider 14EG/90 cycloidal propellers
Speed	10 knots

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.