Spirit of Gosport is a vessel owned by the Gosport Ferry Company Ltd and built by Abels Shipbuilders

Abels Shipbuilders

Abels Shipbuilders Ltd is a ship and boat builder in Bristol, England. They are now the largest remaining shipbuilder in Bristol.-Business:...

 in Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

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History

Spirit of Gosport was built in 2001 to replace the Portsmouth Queen

Portsmouth Queen

The Portsmouth Queen was a vessel owned by the Gosport Ferry Company Ltd. It was built by Thornycroft of Woolston, Hampshire.-History:The vessel was built in 1966 to the exact design to the Gosport Queen and was delivered in a green and white livery. Later, it was repainted into the now standard...

on ferry duties. However, the company also wanted to replace the Solent Enterprise, which operated cruise duties. The vessel was hardly used for the first few months and both existing ferries were kept in service. In 2003, it finally replaced the Solent Enterprise on cruise duties. This continued until 2005, when a brand new vessel was purchased to replace Spirit of Gosport on cruise duties.