FERRY bosses today said there was a "strong possibility" of re-introducing the catamaran service between Portsmouth and Southampton in the run-up to Christmas.

Red Funnel's marketing director Olive Glass made the admission as the company assesses feedback from passengers who used the service for ten days during the Southampton Boat Show.

The pilot project linking the two south-coast cities by water for the first time proved a big hit, with an average 60 passengers making the trip on the 136-seater vessel each way.

Miss Glass said: "There is a strong possibility we will re-introduce the catamaran service on Saturdays and Sundays in the run-up to Christmas.

"We are doing quite a lot of background work assessing what times of the year such a service might work and the types of customers who will use it."

Now Red Funnel bosses are looking at the results of passenger surveys carried out on board its spare Red Jet catamaran.

The company is expected to finalise its plans later this month.

Throughout the Boat Show the high-speed vessel made eight return trips, taking 35 minutes each way from the Gosport Pontoon to Town Quay.

Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the possibility of the service being made permanent.

"It provides an attractive alternative for travelling into Southampton, which can only benefit businesses," said a spokeswoman.

"The city is an important retail centre and anything we can do to bring more people into Southampton is a good thing.

"Both the fortunes of Portsmouth and Southampton are closely linked together."