MV Duc de Normandie

MV Duc de Normandie is a passenger car ferry built in 1978 as the Prinses Beatrix. She subsequently operated under the names Wisteria and Voronskiy.

History
Name:
  • 1978–1986: Prinses Beatrix
  • 1986–2005: Duc de Normandie
  • 2005–2013: Wisteria
  • 2013–2021: Vronskiy
  • 2021: Damla
Operator:
Port of registry:
  • 1978–1986: Hoek of Holland,
  • 1986–2005: Caen
  • 2005–2021: Limmasol
Builder: Verolme Scheepswerf Heusden, The Netherlands
Launched: 14 January 1978
In service: 29 June 1978
Out of service: 2020
Identification: IMO number: 7637149
General characteristics
Tonnage:
  • 9,356 GRT
  • 13,505 GT (after remeasurement)
Length: 131 m (429.8 ft)
Beam: 22 m (72.2 ft)
Installed power: 16,182 kW
Speed: 21 kn (38.9 km/h)
Capacity:
  • 1500 passengers
  • 350 cars

History

She was built in 1978 as the Prinses Beatrix by Verolme Shipyard, in Heusden, The Netherlands and worked for Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland on its joint Sealink route between Hoek van Holland and Harwich, Parkeston Quay. She was named and launched by Princess Beatrix on 14 January 1978.[1] Brittany Ferries bought the vessel on 1 October 1985 and, after chartering the vessel for a year back to SMZ, renamed her Duc de Normandie, operating between Portsmouth and Ouistreham from 5 June 1986.[2] The ferry sailed alongside Reine Mathilde on its favoured route to Ouistreham. On 10 July 2002, she was transferred to the Plymouth-Roscoff route, replacing the Quiberon.[3] She ended her Brittany Ferries career on this route, her final sailing being on 30 September 2004.

Brittany Ferries sold her in 2005 to TransEuropa Ferries, operating between Port of Ramsgate and Ostend under the name Wisteria. In 2006 she was chartered to Ferrimaroc and Acciona Trasmeditarranea for use on their Almeria (Spain) to Nador (Morocco) route.

The vessel sailed on the Nador-Almeria route until September 2013 under the name Vronskiy, where it had operated till 2008 during the summer-season while Transeuropa Ferries operated it on the Oostend-Ramsgate route during the rest of the year. Until 2013 the owner of the ship was Wisteria Hawthorn Shipping but after TEF went bankrupt in April 2013 it was sold to Nizhniy Shipping, which renamed it Vronskiy, although the existing charter to Acciona was continued. The Vronskiy then operated on the route Algericas–Tanger except during the high-summer season when she operated the Nador-Almeria route.[4][5]

In the media

Prinses Beatrix is visible during the series 1 opening credits of British comedy-drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.[6]

References
  1. "M/S PRINSES BEATRIX (1978) (in Swedish)". Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  2. "Brittany Ferries Enthusiasts feature – Goodbye to the Duc". Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  3. "Prinses Beatrix – Duc de Normandie – Wisteria". Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  4. "St. Malo ships – Duc de Normandie : car-ferry". Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  5. "MOROCCO, SEPTEMBER 2006, Part Two: Wisteria, Nador – Almeria". Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  6. "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Filming Locations If I Were A Carpenter". www.auf-pet.com. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  • Photos from shipphoto-keil-canal.de
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