Business, Freight News, Sea

Pride of Calais bows out

[ October 29, 2012   //   Chris ]

P&O Ferries’ Pride of Calais has ended her service on 22 October after almost 25 years on the Dover-Calais route for P&O Ferries when she sailed into the Kent port for the last time. She was in fact due to leave the fleet earlier this year on delivery if her successor the £150 million Spirit of France but was retained to cover the company’s freight ferry European Seaway which was chartered out to work as a wind farm support ship. With that charter at an end  Pride of Calais comes to the end of its service.

Pride of Calais has gone to Tilbury to be laid up whilst P&O Ferries considers her future but her crew stay within the fleet as the European Seaway rejoins the Dover – Calais service.

At 26,433 tonnes and 169 metres in length, Pride of Calais was built to the maximum size of ferry the port of Calais could reasonably accommodate at the time yet she is dwarfed by her successor Spirit of France which at 47,592 tonnes and 213 metres long is built to the maximum size feasible for the ports in their current configuration.

Tags: end of its service, P&O Ferries, Pride of Calais