Hoverspeed was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd. Its last owners were Sea Containers; the company ran a small fleet of two high-speed SeaCat catamaran ferries in its final year.
Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland.
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.
MV Duc de Normandie was a passenger car ferry built in 1978 as the Prinses Beatrix. She subsequently operated under the names Wisteria and Voronskiy.
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.
The Port of Ostend is situated in Ostend, West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The port services freight transport between Ostend and Ramsgate, Ipswich and North Killingholme Haven.
TransEuropa Ferries was a freight and passenger ferry company operating between Ramsgate, Kent, UK and Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium from 1998 to 2013, with three or more ships. The company suspended operations on 18 April 2013, and on 25 April 2013 the line filed to initiate bankruptcy procedures.
The Phocine is a ferry owned by Dart 3 Ltd and currently in service with Seatruck Ferries.
The MV Voyager was a freight and passenger ferry which was operated by Transeuropa Ferries.
The Via Mare is a ro-pax ship which is owned and operated by Baltic Scandinavian Lines.
The Boeing 929 Jetfoil is design of passenger-carrying, waterjet-propelled hydrofoil by Boeing.
Regie voor Maritiem Transport (RMT) was the Belgian state-owned ferry service and operated ferries on the Ostend-Dover route under the name Oostende Lines. For the last few years until its demise in February 1997, the ferries from Ostend went to Ramsgate instead of Dover in partnership with Sally Line.
The MV Al Arabia was a roro-ferry which has seen service on several routes. The ship was built for the Belgium state-owner operator Regie voor Maritiem Transport België as the Prinses Maria Esmeralda. She sailed on the Ostend-Dover route.
MS Al Andalus Express is a freight ferry owned by Eurotunnel and operated by FRS Iberia/Maroc. She was built in 1987 by Chantiers du Nord et de la Mediterranee, Dunkirk for Societe Nationale des Chemin de Fer Francais (SNCF) as a multi-purpose passenger and roll-on roll-off ferry for lorries and railway vehicles. After the introduction of Eurotunnel there was no need for a train ferry, so SNCF was losing money running her. She was acquired by SNAT and Stena Sealink in 1989, which operated the Nord Pas-de-Calais until 31 December 1995. From 1 January 1996 SNAT operated as SeaFrance. The vessel was renamed SeaFrance Nord Pas-de-Calais. SeaFrance operated until November 2011, and was liquidated on 9 January 2012. Eurotunnel won the bid for the three of the former SeaFrance vessels the original name of the vessel was restored, dropping the SeaFrance prefix. MyFerryLink started running on 20 August 2012, although Nord Pas-de-Calais joined in November 2012 following a refit. Following MyFerryLink's cessation of operations, mostly cited due to financial issues, the ferry was used directly by Eurotunnel to carry hazmat cargoes that are not allowed on regular train services.
Oostende railway station is located in Ostend in West Flanders, Belgium. The first station in Ostend was opened in 1838 during the reign of Leopold I of Belgium on the former Belgian railway line 62 to Torhout and is now a supermarket. The NMBS station was opened in 1913 during the reign of Albert I of Belgium. The station is designed to connect trains and ferries and is built with Scottish Granite, Bluestone from Soignes and Limestone from Euville. It is constructed in a classical style of architecture inspired by the French architect from the 18th Century François Mansart and the Louis XVI of France style.
Transport in Flanders is run in two levels regarding the federal nature of Belgium with certain functions run on behalf of the national Cabinet of Belgium and other functions run on behalf of Flemish Government. Therefore, the railways are run at national level by NMBS and are under the auspices of the Cabinet of Belgium, whilst the light railways are run at regional level by De Lijn under the auspices of the Flemish Government. The railway infrastructure is managed by Infrabel and thus is under the auspices of the Cabinet of Belgium.
The MV Lucky Star was a ferry previously operated by TransEuropa Ferries between 1999 and April 2013 as MV Larkspur. After TEF went bankrupt in April 2013 the ship has remained laid up in Ostend in Belgium. She was sold in December 2013 to an unknown buyer and then sold again to Oilchart, a local bunkering company, for more than E400K. Her name was then shortened to Larks. She briefly served with the Greek ferry operator Egnatia Seaways but after financial issue from within Egnatia she was laid up and was renamed Lucky Star on the 01/09/2014 and was registered to Velenio Shipping Co Ltd, Athens, Greece at the same time of her renaming.
MV Star Fighter was a freight ferry that was previously operated by TransEuropa Ferries but was laid up in April 2013 after TEF went bankrupt. She was later sold and renamed Ardenia. In 2014 she was registered to Kosilio Shipping of Limassol, Cyprus and was renamed Star Fighter along with her former fleet mate Larks, which was renamed Lucky Star. She then departed Piraeus for Limassol in early November where she was laid up following her name change. She was scrapped at Alang, India, in December 2016.
M/F Sherbatskiy 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.
