MS GNV Antares

Last updated

Pride of Bruges in Zeebrugge. Spielvogel.jpg
Pride of Bruges in the Port of Zeebrugge
History
Name
  • Norsun (1987-2003)
  • Pride of Bruges (2003-2020)
GNV Antares (2021-)
Owner
Grandi Navi Veloci (2021-)
Operator
Grandi Navi Veloci (2021-)
Port of registry
Route
Builder NKK, Japan
Yard number1033
LaunchedAugust 1986
Maiden voyageMay 1987
Out of service25 January 2021
Identification
StatusIn Service
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage31,598  GT
Length179.35 m (588 ft 5 in)
Beam25.09 m (82 ft 4 in)
Draught6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 2 × controllable pitch propellors
  • 2 × bow thrusters
Speed19 kn (35 km/h)
Capacity
  • 930 passengers
  • 850 cars

MS GNV Antares, originally the MS Norsun and then MS Pride of Bruges, is a ship operated by Grandi Navi Veloci.

Contents

History

As Norsun in 1987 Norsun.jpg
As Norsun in 1987

The ship was built by Nippon Kokan K.K. Tsurumi Yard in Yokohama, Japan. The keel was laid in 1985 and was launched in 1986. Upon completion, the ship entered service in 1987 for North Sea Ferries, then a joint-venture between Dutch Nedlloyd and British P&O. The first years it sailed on the Rotterdam-Hull route with sister ship Norsea , replacing Norstar and Norland . The Norsun sailed under the Dutch flag and was owned by the Dutch half of the joint-venture, while the Norsea was British.

In 1996 ownership transferred to P&O Ferries when Nedlloyd sold its 50% stake to P&O. The ships sailed the Rotterdam route until 2001 when they were replaced by the Pride of Rotterdam and the Pride of Hull.

In 2002 the ships were transferred to the Zeebrugge-Hull route, [2] again replacing Norstar and Norland. Both ships were internally modernised before entering service on this new route. Norsun was renamed Pride of Bruges, her sister ship becoming Pride of York

In October 2016 it was announced that the two ships would be refitted. [3]

In October 2020, P&O announced that Pride of Bruges and Pride of York were to be taken out of service due to the decline in traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 December 2020, P&O announced on Twitter that the service would be stopped from 1 January 2021. [4] Both Pride of Bruges and sister ship Pride of York were sold to Grandi Navi Veloci. [5]

Docking

Hull

Pride of Bruges docked at terminal 2, King George Dock, Hull. Just a few hundred yards away is the terminal for the Hull-Rotterdam ferries. To leave Hull the ship had to squeeze through the lock bow first which only has a few centimetres of clearance on each side. To come back to dock in Hull, she passed through the lock bow first before she had to turn clockwise and reverse into the dock.

Zeebrugge

Zeebrugge was much easier to dock at compared to Hull. The ship simply sailed into Zeebrugge harbour, turned to starboard into a docking area just south of Albert-II Dok and backed into the berth, opening her stern door on the linkspan. [6]

In the media

The Pride of Bruges featured in Episode Three of the BBC Documentary Engineering Giants: Ferry Strip-Down, first broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday 29 July 2012. Her sister ship, MS Pride of York , was also shown. [7]

Related Research Articles

MV <i>Norland</i>

The Norland was a P&O roll-on/roll-off ferry operating between Kingston upon Hull in Yorkshire, UK, and Rotterdam Europoort, Netherlands, and then Zeebrugge, Belgium. The 27,000 tonne ferry was built in 1974 by AG Weser, Bremerhaven, for Dutch North Sea Ferries partners Noordzee Veerdiensten N.V. Sistership MV Norstar sailed under Dutch flag and Norland under British flag and with (mainly) British crew. The ship transferred to P&O North Sea Ferries in 1996.

P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe. The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O. It has been owned by Dubai-based DP World since 2019.

MS <i>GNV Allegra</i>

MS GNV Allegra is a cruiseferry owned by MSC. The ship was built by Wärtsilä Marine's Perno shipyard in Turku, Finland for Jahre Line as MS Kronprins Harald. In 1991 she passed under ownership of Color Line, for whom she sailed until sold to Irish Ferries in 2007. She was sold by Irish Ferries to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) in 2019 and renamed GNV Allegra for service in the fleet of MSC subsidiary Grandi Navi Veloci.

MS <i>Pride of Calais</i>

MS Pride of Calais was a cross-channel ferry owned and operated by P&O Ferries. She operated the Dover–Calais route between 1987 and 2012. In early 2013, under bareboat charter to Transeuropa Ferries, she served on their Ramsgate–Ostend route and was re-named MS Ostend Spirit. After further lay-up in the Port of Tilbury, she was sold for scrap and finally beached at a salvage yard in Turkey on 13 November 2013.

MS <i>Pride of Canterbury</i>

MS Pride of Canterbury is a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries between Dover, United Kingdom and Calais, France. She retired on 5th October 2023, with her final crossing from Dover to Calais, before travelling to Tilbury Docks to be moored awaiting future fait. She will be replaced by P&O Liberaté, the sister boat to the new hybrid ship P&O Pioneer which entered service in June 2023.

MS <i>King Seaways</i>

MS King Seaways is a cruiseferry operated and owned by the Danish shipping company DFDS Seaways on a route connecting North Shields, effectively the port of Newcastle upon Tyne,, England to IJmuiden in the Netherlands. She was built in 1987 as MS Nils Holgersson by Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, West Germany for TT-Line. Between 1993 and 2006 the ship was named MV Val de Loire, owned by Brittany Ferries and used on traffic across the English Channel. A DFDS vessel since 2006, she was originally named MS King of Scandinavia, before being given her current name in 2011.

MS <i>Anthi Marina</i>

The MS Anthi Marina was a ferry operated by GA Ferries. She was the first of three 'Spirit' class ferries built for Townsend Thoresen, as MS Spirit of Free Enterprise. Her two sister ships were MS Pride of Free Enterprise and MS Herald of Free Enterprise.

MS <i>Finbo Cargo</i>

The MS Finbo Cargo is a roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry that was previously called the European Endeavour which was owned and operated by P&O Ferries until May 2019. Eckerö Line purchased the ship from P&O in 2019 and is expected to take delivery in June 2019 and renamed her MS Finbo Cargo.

MS <i>GNV Cristal</i>

MS GNV Cristal is a cruiseferry owned by the Italy-based SNAV and operated by their Grandi Navi Veloci brand. She was built in 1989 by Schichau Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven, West Germany as MS Olau Hollandia for Olau Line. From 1994 to 2005 she sailed as MS Pride of Le Havre for P&O ferries. From 2005 to 2017 she operated as the SNAV Sardegna between Civitavecchia, Palermo and Olbia.

MV <i>Norstar</i>

Norstar was a P&O roll-on/roll-off ferry operating between Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England and Rotterdam Europoort, Netherlands and later on the Hull-Zeebrugge, Belgium line.

MS <i>SNAV Adriatico</i>

MS SNAV Adriatico operating under the Ferry Xpress Panama line is a roll-on/roll-off ferry currently operated by Grandi Navi Veloci. She used to be owned by Stena Line and operated on the Karlskrona - Gdynia service. She was built in 1986 by Van der Giessen de Noord as MS Koningin Beatrix for SMZ. In 1989 she passed under Stena Line's ownership and in 2002 was renamed Stena Baltica. In 2013 she was sold to SNAV. On October 23, 2014, Snav leased the ship to Panamanian company Ferry Xpress Panama to start operations on the Colon - Cartagena - Colon and Colon - Bocas del Toro - Colon routes. Since 2015 is operated by Trasmediterránea, and is currently rent by Grandi Navi Veloci to serve on the Naples-Palermo route.

MS <i>Pride of Rotterdam</i>

MS Pride of Rotterdam is a Dutch registered passenger and cargo roll-on/roll-off ship/cruiseferry, in service with P&O North Sea Ferries on the Hull - Rotterdam route. The cruiseferry was also featured in the video game Ship Simulator Extremes.

MS <i>GNV Aries</i>

MS GNV Aries was built as MS Norsea for North Sea Ferries as part of their response to the need for larger vessels in the mid to late 1980s. The 1974 ships MV Norland and MV Norstar were proving to be very popular, and were running at capacity. Therefore, North Sea Ferries designed their "3rd Generation" overnight ferry. The two parent companies within North Sea Ferries placed their orders in two separate locations. P&O placed its at Govan Shipbuilders on the River Clyde, and Nedlloyd placed their order with NKK in Yokohama, Japan.

MS <i>Pride of Hull</i> Bahamas registered passenger and cargo roll-on/roll-off ship

MS Pride of Hull is a Bahamas registered passenger and cargo roll-on/roll-off cruiseferry in service with P&O North Sea Ferries on the Hull – Rotterdam route.

MS <i>Norbay</i> Freight vessel operated by P&O

MS Norbay is a ro-pax vessel owned and operated by the British ferry company P&O Ferries. She was built by Van Der Giessen-de Noord N.V., Netherlands in 1994.

MS <i>Pride of Free Enterprise</i> Ferry, 1980-2015

MS Pride of Free Enterprise was a RORO Passenger and Freight ferry operating services between Almeria and Nador on a time-charter basis to the Spanish ferry operator Acciona Trasmediterranea. The ship was formerly called the M/F Oleander (2001-2013), P&OSL Picardy (1999-2001), Pride of Bruges (1987-1999) and Pride of Free Enterprise (1980-1987). She was operated by FerriMaroc and Comarit between 2010 and 2011 and previously owned and operated by TransEuropa Ferries between Ramsgate and Ostend. TransEuropa Ferries owned the ferry between 2001 and 2013 and operated her between 2001 and 2010 before placing her on charter. She was scrapped at Alang in late 2015 under the name Sher.

MV <i>GNV Sealand</i> 2008 ship

GNV Sealand is a ferry operated by Grandi Navi Veloci between Valencia, Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza.

MS <i>Norstream</i>

Norstream is a cargo ferry owned by the Bore Ltd subsidiary company Bore Sky and operated by P&O Ferries with sister ship Norsky on the Tilbury–Zeebrugge route.

MS Norwind was a North Sea ferry that was later used in the Mediterranean Sea.

MS <i>Rhapsody</i> (cruiseferry) French cruiseferry

MS Rhapsody, is an Italian cruiseferry operated by Grandi Navi Veloci. She was built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French ferry operator SNCM as Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1996, she was put on the Marseille–Corsica route, replacing the old ferry Napoleon which was moved to the Marseille–Algeria–Tunisia route. On October 27, 2012, the ship broke its moorings in the port of Marseille due to strong winds, violently struck the dock, and sunk in the harbour. Due to its financial difficulties, SNCM was unable to repair the ferry, and sold it to the Italian shipowner MSC in 2014. Refloated, the ship was renamed Rhapsody and transferred to Grandi Navi Veloci to sail first between Italy and Albania, and then from 2017 on the Genoa-Porto Torres route.

References

  1. "Faktaomfartyg.se – Pride of Bruges (1987)". Faktaomfartyg. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  2. "Ferries Hull To Bruges". 29 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. "MS Pride of York relaunched after refurbishment at Remontowa SA". 29 March 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  4. Riley, Anna (15 December 2020). "P&O Ferries Hull to Zeebrugge route axed due to Covid impact". HullLive. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. Former North Sea pair sold to Italy Ships Monthly June 2021 page 10
  6. "Cheap Ferries to France, Ireland & Europe | P&O Ferries – UK". www.poferries.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  7. "Engineering Giants: Ferry Strip Down". You Tube. Retrieved 8 October 2023.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to IMO 8503797 at Wikimedia Commons