History | |
---|---|
Name | P&O Pioneer |
Owner | P&O Ferries |
Operator |
|
Port of registry | Limassol, Cyprus |
Route | Dover–Calais (2023–present) |
Builder | Guangzhou Shipyard International, Guangzhou, China |
Cost | £130 million [1] |
Yard number | 19121007 |
Laid down | 21 December 2020 |
Launched | 2 January 2022 |
Maiden voyage | 19 June 2023 |
In service | 19 June 2023 |
Identification | IMO number: 9895161 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 47,394 GT |
Length | 230.5 m (756 ft 3 in) |
Beam | 30.8 m (101 ft 1 in) |
Decks | 10 |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) |
Capacity |
|
MV P&O Pioneer is a roll-on/roll-off cross-channel hybrid ferry operated by P&O Ferries. She is the first of her class ordered by P&O Ferries to replace the ageing Pride of Kent, with her sister P&O Liberte [2] due to follow in early 2024 to replace the ageing Pride of Canterbury and also Spirit of Britain in 2024 which has been chartered to Irish ferries.
Unlike previous ferries operated on the channel, the P&O Pioneer's design is a radical shift away from convention. Instead of having a distinct bow and stern like previous designs for the English Channel, the P&O Pioneer will utilise a double-ended hull design, with two bridges. While double-ended ferries have been utilised for a long time in various guises — some notable examples include BC Ferries' Coastal-class ferries and the Staten Island Ferries — the P&O Pioneer will be the first double-ended ferry to be used on the Channel, alongside being the first double-ended ship of her size. According to P&O, using two bridges on both ends instead of one saves two minutes in either harbour as there is no need to turn the ship around when docking or departing. The P&O Pioneer will also be the first ship on the Channel to utilise diesel-electric Azipod propulsion, with four Azipods mounted in corners around the hull of the vessel, capable of swivelling 360 degrees. The ship will also feature some 8.8 megawatt hours of batteries, allowing for a departure from Dover or Calais without diesel engines. These ships are designed to also be converted to battery-electric propulsion at a later date, when charging infrastructure is available on both sides of the Channel. On the port and starboard sides amidships, the ship will feature two sets of panoramic windows giving a view of both the French and British coastlines.
The ships were first announced in September 2019 in a P&O press release. [3] In the press release, it was announced that P&O had ordered two ships of the class, with two further options for a total of four ships. However, it was not until January 2020 when the first renders of the ships were released, including some additional technical details. [4] On 15 October 2020, the first steel was cut in the construction of the P&O Pioneer, then simply referred to by yard number, 19121007. [5] Later, it was announced on 21 December 2020 that the keels for both the P&O Pioneer and P&O Liberte (then 19121008) were laid down. [6] Construction continued throughout 2021 without any news when on 2 January the P&O Pioneer was launched, alongside name announcements and further technical disclosure. [2] [7]
P&O Pioneer entered service in mid 2023, to be followed by her sister vessel later that year. [8] [9] In April 2023, prior to entering service, an issue with her passenger lifeboat was discovered following a lifeboat drill, which resulted in the need to stop over in Dunkerque, France, for further investigation. [10]
Dover is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at 33 kilometres (21 mi) from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. The town is the administrative centre of the Dover District and home of the Port of Dover.
Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke as well as Dublin Port-Cherbourg in France.
MS Pride of Dover was a cross-channel ferry built-in 1987 for Townsend Thoresen. One of two 'Chunnel Beater' ships she primarily operated on the Dover – Calais route alongside her sister ship the Pride of Calais for P&O Ferries Ferries until 2010.
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 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.
Blue Wave Harmony is a ferry formerly known as MS Sea Anatolia and originally launched in 1991 for P&O as European Seaway. From Spring 2023 it was owned by Blue Wave Corporation.
MS Pride of Burgundy was a cross-channel ferry owned by P&O Ferries. It operated on the Dover to Calais route from 1993 to 2022.
MS Pride of Canterbury was a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries between Dover, United Kingdom and Calais, France. She made her maiden voyage on 4 January 1992 as the European pathway. She was converted in 2003 to a pure passenger vessel. She retired from service on the 10 September 2023 before a brief lay up and a departure for Alaiga to be broken up for recycling
MS Pride of Kent was a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries, it operated on the Dover to Calais route from 2003 until its retirement in June 2023. Before that, between 1992 and 2002, it had operated on the Dover to Zeebrugge route.
LD Lines was a French shipping company, with both roro freight and passenger ferry operations. It was a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), which engages in building, owning, operating, and managing vessels. LD Lines operated ferry routes on the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea.
MS Isle of Innisfree is a passenger and car ferry to be operated by Irish Ferries between Dover and Calais. Originally built at Boelwerf as the Prins Filip originally sailing between Dover and Ostend, later between Ostend and Ramsgate, she has since 1997 operated for a wide variety of companies.
The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just 34 kilometres (21 mi) away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime passenger ports, with 11.7 million passengers, 2.6 million lorries, 2.2 million cars and motorcycles and 80,000 coaches passing through it in 2017, and with an annual turnover of £58.5 million a year. This contrasts with the nearby Channel Tunnel, the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland, which now handles an estimated 20 million passengers and 1.6 million trucks per year.
P&O Stena Line was formed in 1998 after the merger of P&O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd and the Dover and Newhaven operations of Stena Line.
MS Oscar Wilde is a cross-channel ferry to be operated by Irish Ferries on the Dover-Calais route. Formerly named Spirit of Britain, she is the first of two Spirit-class ships built for P&O Ferries, the other being Spirit of France. The vessels are the largest ferries constructed for the cross-channel route. She was chartered by Irish Ferries after being laid up by P&O in early 2024; with the obligation to purchase after two years.
MS Spirit of France is a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries on the Dover–Calais route. She is the second of two Spirit-class ships built for P&O Ferries, the other being Spirit of Britain The vessels are the largest ferries constructed for the Dover/Calais route and the largest ferries to ever cross the English Channel.
MS Norbay is a ro-pax vessel owned by the British ferry company P&O Ferries and currently chartered to Irish Ferries. She was built by Van Der Giessen-de Noord N.V., Netherlands in 1994.
MS Wawel is a ferry launched in 1979 as the Scandinavia. She spent a large part of her career serving the Dover-Calais cross channel ferry route with successive operators. She is currently in service with Polferries as Wawel.
MS Côte des Flandres is a Ro-Ro Passenger Ferry owned by Eurotunnel and operated by DFDS Seaways France between Dover and Calais, the ship was the second to be built for SeaFrance in 2005, she entered service with SeaFrance in March 2005 and finished with SeaFrance in January 2012 when the company was liquidated.
The E-Flexer is a class of Chinese-built Ro-Pax ferries ordered by Stena RoRo for European line service. Twelve vessels of the class are on order, and upon delivery will be operated by Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways and Marine Atlantic. Stena Line are to take five vessels of the class, Brittany Ferries five, and a single vessel each to DFDS and Marine Atlantic, of which the latter's vessel will also be hybrid electric. All of the vessels will be delivered to Stena RoRo with the Stena Line vessels transferred to that company and the Brittany Ferries, DFDS and Marine Atlantic examples long-term chartered to those operators, with an option to purchase at the end of the charter.
The Dover–Dunkerque train ferry was one of two regular rail freight train ferries that operated between the United Kingdom and Europe. The route connected the English port of Dover, with the French port of Dunkerque. After rationalisation of other Anglo-European train ferries, the Dover to Dunkerque sailing was the last to survive, though it ended its days on freight carryings only after the Night Ferry passenger service ended in 1980. The last Dover to Dunkerque wagon-freight ferry service became redundant upon the opening of the Channel Tunnel when freight was carried directly through the Channel Tunnel.