Fuerteventura is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located 97 km from the northwest African coast. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2009.
Lanzarote is a Spanish island, the northernmost and easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately 125 kilometres off the north coast of Africa and 1,000 kilometres from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.94 square kilometres, Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 152,289 inhabitants at the start of 2019, it is the third most populous Canary Island, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Located in the centre-west of the island is Timanfaya National Park, one of its main attractions. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1993. The island's capital is Arrecife, which lies on the eastern coastline. It is the smaller main island of the Province of Las Palmas.
A trimaran is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreation or racing; others are ferries or warships. They originated from the traditional double-outrigger hulls of the Austronesian cultures of Maritime Southeast Asia; particularly in the Philippines and Eastern Indonesia, where it remains the dominant hull design of traditional fishing boats. Double-outriggers are derived from the older catamaran and single-outrigger boat designs.
MV Queen of Nanaimo is a Burnaby-class passenger vessel that was operated by BC Ferries from the time it entered service in 1964 until 2017. Queen of Nanaimo was used to ferry passengers and vehicles from mainland British Columbia, Canada to the islands off its coast. In 2017, the vessel was sold to Goundar Shipping Ltd. and renamed MV Lomaiviti Princess V for service in Fiji.
The V-class ferries, also known as the Victoria class, originally included seven ferries operated by BC Ferries built between 1962 and 1965. The V class were a continuation of the previous Sidney-class design with some cosmetic changes and different engines. These vessels were the backbone of service on the Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay route prior to the arrival of MV Spirit of British Columbia in 1993. Four of these vessels underwent vehicle capacity increases three times. The lead ship of the class, Queen of Victoria suffered significant damage in a collision in 1982.
A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popular and large hydrofoils and hovercraft are no longer built. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferries, but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight.
Fred. Olsen Express is an inter-island ferry service based in the Canary Islands, Spain. It operates a fleet of six modern fast ferries on five routes. Its fleet includes a trimaran fast ferry, the Benchijigua Express, which was the first such vehicle in the world when it entered service in 2005. The company is owned by the Olsen family-controlled Bonheur and Ganger Rolf, which among other things also owns the shipping companies Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and First Olsen Tankers.
Corralejo is a town and resort located on the northern tip of Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands, facing the smaller islet of Lobos. It is in the municipality of La Oliva. It is surrounded to the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, by dunes to the south and by arid desert land to the west that leads to the western coast and El Cotillo. Once a traditional fishing village, the town has grown significantly and today is one of the two main tourist towns on the island of Fuerteventura. Thanks to the large expat population, the town has a diverse population that varies from the local Spaniard, to the Italian, Irish, British, German and Finnish people who have settled in the resort.
Playa Blanca is the southernmost town of the Spanish island of Lanzarote. It is the newest resort on the island, and is part of the municipality of Yaiza.
Austal is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, high-speed passenger and vehicle ferries, and specialist utility vessels, such as offshore windfarm for turtles and crew transfer vessels.
Benchijigua Express is a fast ferry, operated by Fred. Olsen Express between the Canary Islands, Tenerife, La Gomera and La Palma in the Atlantic Ocean. She was delivered in April 2005. At 127 metres (417 ft) long, the ferry is the second-longest trimaran in the world, less than a metre shy of the Independence class littoral combat ship, which was based on Benchijigua Express's design. Her body is made of aluminium with a special offshore coating, and is the second-largest vessel with an aluminium hull. The ship's name, derived from the village of Benchijigua on La Gomera where Fredrik Olsen had property, was previously used twice since 1999.
HSC Cecilia Payne is a high-speed ferry owned and operated by Baleària. The vessel operates between Ciutadella de Menorca and Alcudia. The vessel is named after British–American astrophysicist Cecilia Payne. Between 1999 and 2018 she was operated by Irish Ferries as Jonathan Swift.
Naviera Armas is a Spanish company, founded in the 1940s, which operates a number of ferry services in Spain. The company mainly operates in the Canary Islands, with additional routes connecting the Canary Islands and the north African coast to the Spanish mainland. As of August 2019, the company operates a fleet of 11 ferries and 5 fast ferries.
The SuperCat Fast Ferry Corporation, commonly known as SuperCat, was a shipping company that operated a fleet of high-speed catamarans (HSC) in the Philippines. It is now part of Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corporation. Supercat was the sister company of SuperFerry, Cebu Ferries and 2GO Travel. Supercat operated 7 vessels in 7 ports around the Philippines.
The Betancuria Express is a fast passenger and vehicle ferry operated by the Canary Islands ferry company Fred. Olsen Express on the route between Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. It was built in 2011 by Austal in Perth, Australia as the Leonora Christina for BornholmerFærgen.
La Bocayna or La Bocaina is a sea strait that separates Lanzarote from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. The island of Lobos is situated on the southern side of the strait, close to Fuerteventura.
Benchi Express is a catamaran ferry operated by the Spanish-Norwegian shipping company Fred. Olsen Express for local transport connecting ports on the island of La Gomera. It was delivered to Fred. Olsen in September 2017 and has been operating the route between the towns of San Sebastián de La Gomera, Playa Santiago and Valle Gran Rey since then. The ship was purpose-built for this route by Drassanes Dalmau, based in Arenys de Mar (Barcelona).
Volcán de Tindaya is a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry operated by the Spanish shipping company Naviera Armas between the Canary Islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Atlantic Ocean. It was built and delivered to Armas in 2003 and has been operating the route between the towns of Corralejo (Fuerteventura) and Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) since then. The ship is named after the Tindaya mountain on Fuerteventura.
MV or HSCMaria Dolores is a high-speed catamaran ferry owned by Virtu Ferries. It was built by Austal in 2005–06, entering service as a ferry between Malta and Sicily in March 2006. The vessel soon became too small to allow for the increasing passenger and cargo traffic on this route, and in October 2010 it was replaced by the larger catamaran MV Jean de La Valette.
The 118 metre trimaran is a class of high speed trimaran ferries designed and built by Australian shipbuilder Austal for the Canary Islands operator Fred. Olsen Express. Two ships of the design were ordered in 2017 for delivery in 2020 and 2021.
Spain