Former Galloway Princess back in service as the yard which built her goes into administration
The former Stena Galloway is back in service for the first time since 2013, but the shipyard that built her entered administration this week.
The former Stena Galloway is back in service for the first time since 2013, but the shipyard that built her entered administration this week.
Morocco Sun, the former Stena Galloway and Galloway Princess, arrived at Tangier Med over the weekend ahead of inspections which could lead to her resuming service after over five years.
Reports from the Mediterranean suggest that veteran ferry LE RIF, which as reported by NIFS went into dry-dock last week, has indeed found a new operator.
A quick roundup of some recent news stories featuring NI vessels past and current which haven’t warranted their own separate post.
It appears that LE RIF, the former GALLOWAY PRINCESS / STENA GALLOWAY, is available for charter having reappeared on a brokers website. Her owners DWLM had previously advertised that she would enter service with them between Algeciras and Tangier Med towards the end of last year.
The transformation of the former GALLOWAY PRINCESS/STENA GALLOWAY has continued into 2018 according to her owner, despite the original intention that she would enter service again between Algeciras and Tangier Med in September 2017, and recent rumours that she had been abandoned.
The former Sealink and Stena Line passenger and vehicle ferry LE RIF (ex STENA GALLOWAY, GALLOWAY PRINCESS) has still yet to enter service on the Algeciras – Tangier Med route for new operator DWLM. It had been previously reported by NIFS that she would return to service in September or October. A
Reports from Morocco indicate that LE RIF (ex Stena Galloway, Galloway Princess) is expected to return to service soon, following an extensive refurbishment and overhaul. The Belfast built former Sealink ferry has been out of service since 2013 when previous operator IMTC collapsed.
Reports from Spain indicate that former North Channel favourite, Le Rif (ex Stena Galloway, Galloway Princess) has yet to enter the Andalucia dry dock at Cernaval’s Mario Lopez shipyard in Malaga, despite it being a month since her arrival in the Spanish port. It appears that the delay has been due to the ship requiring more work than previously thought to prepare her for entering the dry-dock for a €2.5m refurbishment concentrating mostly on her hull and mechanicals. It is understood that onboard power is currently being provided by a generator on the dock side. With the above in mind, and the fact that the ship will need to be re-certified by the appropriate authorities, it is very unlikely that Le Rif will enter service before the end of 2016. Reports on local sites last week suggested Le Rif was to enter the dry-dock before the end of August, but at the time of writing, her … Read more