The Cowes Floating Bridge is a vehicular chain ferry that crosses the River Medina on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.

In 2006 the Isle of Wight Council considered converting the floating bridge to only transport vehicles across the River Medina, setting up a launch for pedestrians with a charge of 50p.

Prior to this the last time a foot passenger charge was in operation was until 1992, when the vehicle tolls were raised from 75p to £1.25 to compensate for any lost income.

While this initially resulted in a slump in crossings from 300,000 to less than 210,000 in 1993, as the diversion travelling via Newport became more congested the popularity of the floating bridge began to rise again.

[6] Earlier vessels included stairs to give passengers access to roofs covering the vehicle deck,[citation needed] a feature not present on Bridge No.

Occasionally the idea of replacing the chain ferry with a swing bridge or tunnel is brought up; however, this has yet to materialise into a serious debate.

During this time a foot passenger ferry is operated, however the only alternative for vehicles is to travel along the River Medina and cross at Newport.

The tidal nature of the River Medina can periodically restrict operations of the floating bridge during times of very low tides.

[12] Similarly in 2003 the ferry was left stranded on the banks of the East Cowes side of the river as the tide decreased due to difficulties with a vehicle disembarking the vessel, leaving it grounded.

[14] In January 2011, the East Cowes Town Council passed a resolution about the floating bridge[15] and residents have been calling for a public consultation on the floating bridge arguing that charging to cross the river could affect the local economies of the two interdependent towns.

The cost of additional launch services and perceived unreliability of the new vessel from 2017 was blamed for the loss in revenue.

[17] The current vessel Floating Bridge No.6 was built by Welsh boat builders Mainstay Marine.

[19] The following day, the vessel broke down due to a power cut, forcing passengers to wade through the River Medina to disembark the ferry.

However, the council later stated it was postponing the naming of the vessel until some point after local elections took place later in the month.

In February 2019 Isle of Wight Council leader Dave Stewart stated the designs of the bridge did not fit the requirements initially drawn up by the council, with the idea of pursuing legal action against Burness Corlett Three Quays (the company who provided technical specifications for the bridge) suggested.

A temporary launch was put in place, however this struggled to cope with the increase in demand for journeys across the river that Cowes Week had created.

[31] September 2019 saw the issues continue with the floating bridge out of service again due to technical problems with the prow and hinge.

[35] The vessel was taken out of service in July 2020 for routine maintenance, at which time a serious hydraulic system fault was discovered.

[36] In September of the same year the Isle of Wight Council decided to take legal action against Mainstay Marine.