Harland and Wolff (H&W)
Further update on the former Stena Antrim
From reading Spanish news reports it would appear that the former Stena Antrim (ex St Christopher, now Ibn Battouta) has been declared abandoned along with 3 other ships previously owned by the failed COMARIT/COMANAV ferry operation.  A demand for EUR 386,191.58 in fees owed to the port has been made to be paid within 15 days (of the 21st of March) it seems, or the ships will presumably be sold at auction.  As previously reported on this site the 4 ships have lain idle at Algericas  for almost 3 years now, and with COMARIT/COMANAV bankrupt (though I understand some legal proceedings are still underway) its hard to see where the money is going to come from.  Another of the ships, Al Mansour, also served on the Irish Sea briefly for B&I line between Rosslare and Pembroke, though she will be remembered by many as RMT’s Reine Astrid operating from Ostend to ... Read more
Bad news about the former Stena Antrim (updated)
In particularly sad news for Belfast and Northern Ireland, one of the final passenger vessels built by Harland and Wolff could soon be headed to a beach somewhere for scrapping. The Ibn Batouta (ex Stena Antrim, St Christopher) is one of 4 ferries which have been laid up in Algericas for over 2 years following the failure of owners COMARIT. The port authority is now pushing for them to be declared abandoned so they can be removed and auctioned to the highest bidder. The most likely destination considering the age and condition of the 4 ships is for scrap. Between 1991 and 1996 Stena Antrim served to Stranraer, first from Larne and then from Belfast when Stena moved there in 1995. Of the other veseels (Al Mansour, Banasa, and Boughaz) Al Mansour also served in Irish waters as Stena Nautica for both Sealink and B&I line between Fishguard and Wales. ... Read more