Young Ellis had captured the hearts of everyone at Wightlink so was offered to be VIP ‘Captain for the Day’ on the retiring ferry, St Cecilia, last week.
During her time in the Solent, St Cecilia was used as a filming location for the BBC TV children’s programme Grange Hill and the French film, A Loving Father, starring Gérard Depardieu.
The local councillor says this development is "a positive step forwards" and that "by opening up the area, it will change the look and feel of our town comparatively".
The latest incident is the third failure of an engine resulting in a fire on Wight Sky over the last 16 months. Wightlink pledge to resolve the problems customers have experienced.
The ferry has been withdrawn from the route as engineers from Wightlink, the engine manufacturer and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) continue to investigate what caused the engine failure.
Although there could be a reasonable explanation, Isle of Wight MP, Robert Seely, says that "Wightlink appears to pay no tax on its earnings" and adds that neither do the holding companies. Wightlink respond.
Island Labour have agreed a motion to seek commitment from the Labour Party that they would adopt the policy of returning the ferry companies to public ownership as part of the programme of bringing the railway system back into public ownership.