 | |
| Industry | Passenger transportation |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Seaspeed & Hoverlloyd |
| Founded | 25 October 1981 |
| Defunct | 7 November 2005 |
| Fate | Dissolved into Norfolkline |
| Headquarters | Dover, England |
Area served | English Channel |
Key people | Geoffrey Ede, Managing Director |
Number of employees | 530 (Permanent); 350 (Seasonal) |
| Parent | Sea Containers |
Hoverspeed was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd. Its last owners were Sea Containers; the company ran a small fleet of two high-speed SeaCat catamaran ferries in its final year.
Hoverspeed played a part in developing the hovercraft, and ran six SR.N4 Mountbatten class hovercraft and one SEDAM N500 Naviplane. Hoverspeed last operated hovercraft on its Dover to Calais service. They were withdrawn on 1 October 2000 and Hoverspeed continued to use Seacat catamarans built by Incat.