The first hydrofoils to operate on the Southampton to Cowes route, and the first in commercial service in the United Kingdom, were the Italian designed "Shearwater" and "Shearwater 2". These were introduced by Red Funnel in 1969, and each seated 54 passengers. They were replaced in 1973 by two 67 seat RH70 hydrofoils, built by Cantière Navale Rodriguez, named "Shearwater 3" and "Shearwater 4". The latter was delivered some 5 months after the former and in the interim a PT20 craft, "Fleccia di Reggio", was chartered to stand in. In 1982 "Shearwater 5" and "Shearwater 6" were added to the fleet. In 1991, with the introduction of the first "Red Jet" catamarans, the hydrofoils were demoted to back-up duties until they were finally withdrawn in 1998.