One of Red Funnel's foot passenger vessels — Red Jet 4 — is up for sale, amid ongoing concerns over the reliability of the Isle of Wight ferry firm.

The company has told the Echo's sister paper, the Isle of Wight County Press, it has only 'partially renewed' the boat's certification and is prioritising the route's remaining vessels — one of which is currently out of operation, while the other has only just returned to service.

It comes after the resignation of eight directors at the company and follows major disruption with both the Red Jet and vehicle ferry service.

The whereabouts of Red Jet 4 have been in question for some time and in February, it was reported it had been out of action since the end of 2023.

Read more: 

It is currently docked in Southampton, alongside the stricken Red Jet 6. The other vessel, Red Jet 7 is at Wight Shipyard, East Cowes.

Now it can be confirmed that Red Jet 4, one of the older vessels in the fleet, has had interest from 'other operators'.

Leanna Lakes, operations director at Red Funnel, told the County Press: "We are carefully considering our options regarding her future in alignment with prioritising the reliability and sustainability of our services.

"We have only partially renewed her certification and are focused on ensuring that Red Jets 6 and 7 operates a reliable and punctual service to the high standards that our customers rightly expect.

"We will update further in due course regarding Red Jet 4.”

A listing on website Shipselector.com, shows a catamaran with redacted branding for sale through broker, Lager Maritime Corp.

It is on the market for $3.15 million.

A temporary timetable is in place on the Red Jet until at least Friday.

Red Jet 6 has resumed a one boat service on the route and additional sailings are being operated by Blue Funnel.

As previously reported, Red Funnel passengers were left stranded on Saturday after problems with the Red Jet coincided with vehicle sailings also being cancelled.

The disruption led to customers and politicians slamming the service.