[Photo Feature] 10 years on – part 1: Farewell Stranraer
Today marks 10 years since Stena Line closed the Port of Stranraer, retired HSS STENA VOYAGER, STENA CALEDONIA & STENA NAVIGATOR from North Channel service.
POETA LÓPEZ ANGLADA (ex DANIYA / STENA NAVIGATOR / SEFRANCE MANET / STENA PARISIEN / CHAMPS ÉLYSÉES)
Stena Line – 25 Years in Belfast: Cairnryan, Heysham, and Birkenhead
In the second of today’s features celebrating 25 years of Stena Line in Belfast, we take a look at developments from 2010 onwards.
Stena Line – 25 Years in Belfast: The Stranraer years
Twenty five years after Stena Line relocated from Larne to Belfast, we take a look at the ships which served the Belfast – Stranraer route.
November Ferry News Roundup
A quick roundup of some recent stories featuring local, industry, and former local vessel news which haven’t warranted their own separate post.
Remembering HSS Stena Voyager
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the final departure of HSS STENA VOYAGER from Belfast on May 5th 2013. The final departure of STENA VOYAGER followed the successful introduction of the sister-ships STENA SUPERFAST VII and STENA SUPERFAST VIII during November 2011.
Veteran Irish Ferries’ catamaran Jonathan Swift leaves Ireland for a new life in Spain.
The longest serving fast-craft on the Irish Sea, JONATHAN SWIFT, left Dublin for the last time earlier today renamed CECILIA PAYNE. She is replaced by the slightly larger Austal AutoExpress DUBLIN SWIFT (ex WESTPAC EXPRESS) which was recently converted from military use over a 3-month period at Harland & Wolff.
In Waters New Roundup: Autumn 2017
A quick update on the current status of some of the former Northern Ireland based ferries now operating elsewhere around the world, including the former EXPRESS, STENA GALLOWAY / GALLOWAY PRINCESS, STENA CALEDONIA / ST. DAVID, STENA CAMBRIA / ST. ANSELM, STENA NAVIGATOR / SEAFRANCE MANET, and EUROPEAN PATHFINDER / JAGUAR / EUROPEAN CLEARWAY / BEGONIA
In Waters New, Easter 2017 Roundup.
A quick news roundup featuring some vessels which previously plied their trade in NI waters. LE RIF: Could the former STENA GALLOWAY/GALLOWAY PRINCESS soon be back in service? The last purpose-built vessel for the Larne to Stranraer service could soon be back plying her trade in the Mediterranean. Last month LE RIF (ex Stena Galloway, Galloway Princess) was moved from La Spezia to Napoli. The vessel had previously been purchased at auction by the mysterious new Moroccan company DWLM who had intended to refit her at Malaga, however the vessel was moved to La Spezia amid reports of a dispute with the Malaga yard owners over costs. Reports from Italy suggest that the vessel may now be under the control of the group of companies that own Mediterranean operator Moby Lines. Moby themselves have been acquiring a number of elderly vessels in the past couple of years, including the now MOBY KISS (ex … Read more
Stena in Belfast – Celebrating 20 years of Stena Line operating from Belfast.
20th anniversary of Stena Line switching the historic Larne – Stranraer service to Belfast. Today marks 20 years from the last sailing of what was then Stena Sealink Line, into the Port of Larne from Scotland, with tomorrow the anniversary of the first Stena ferry sailing from Belfast. Few could have predicted at the time that 20 years, and 2 bespoke Belfast-Scotland terminals later, Stena Line would also offer services from Belfast to Birkenhead and Heysham, as well as operating a pair of 203 metre long ferries to Scotland from Belfast. Just six weeks after the switch, on the 31st December 1995, the “Sealink” name would disappear altogether with all UK operations being rebranded as “Stena Line”. Of course, things have also changed dramatically at Larne. No longer Northern Ireland’s premier ferry port, Stena’s rise at Belfast has been somewhat mirrored by P&O’s decline at Larne. The services to Fleetwood and … Read more
POETA LÓPEZ ANGLADA (ex Stena Navigator)
Profile of the Baleària ferry POETA LÓPEZ ANGLADA, the former STENA NAVIGATOR. Includes an overview of her history, technical data, deck plans, and photographs.
Some former North Channel Ferries in photographs
This post has been replaced by a new dedicated page here. Photographs of some of the ferries which previously plied their trade in our waters. Note, that due to the age of these photographs (many of which where originally taken with film cameras and scanned), picture quality is sometimes not up to modern standards.
