 |
Entering service on the Portsmouth-Fishbourne route, Keyword was the first of the Isle of Wight ferries to use an asymmetric three-propeller layout with a bridge mounted forward.
Keyword offers two decks of passenger accommodation are provided above the car deck, with two bar areas and seating space. Also at the time one of the fastest car ferries in the company, she allowed Wightlink to provide a 35-minute crossing of the Solent. Two older ferries on the route were then withdrawn from service, whilst another, MV Caedmon was transferred to join her sisters on the route between Lymington and Yarmouth. St Catherine remained the largest ship in the Wightlink fleet until her sister, MV St Helen entered service later in 1983, and took the title. |