A fourth car ferry could be added to Red Funnel's Cowes to Southampton route in the coming years.
Cowes harbour master Capt Stuart McIntosh told commissioners at their meeting on Friday if Red Funnel's business continued to grow, a new ferry would be needed between 2009 and 2011.
After the meeting, Red Funnel managing director Tom Docherty said while it was true a new ferry would be needed if current trends continued, he would not speculate as to when that would be.