Norse Irish Ferries was formed as a collaboration of Northern Irish hauliers and a Norwegian shipping company specifically to re-establish a regular direct freight link between Belfast and Liverpool following the demise of the previous Belfast Ferries/Belfast Car Ferries service. The new operator was given the exclusive right to use the berth at the newly developed Victoria Terminal 2 in Belfast. The new service started during November 1991, and during the Christmas period of 1991 the first passengers (apart from lorry drivers) were carried on-board the larger of the two vessels used, NORSE LAGAN. Passengers were carried onboard the vessel on a permanent basis from early the following year.
What was Norse Irish Ferries is now Stena Line’s Belfast to Birkenhead route as a result of successive takeovers of the original operator by Cenargo International (Merchant Ferries), Norfolk Line, and DFDS. DFDS sold their Irish Sea interests to Stena Line so they could focus on integrating the rest of Norfolk Line into their own business.
Take a look back at some of the ferries which have operated to NI. In part 3 we take a look at some of the ferries of Merchant Ferries, Norse Irish Ferries, Belfast Car Ferries, Belfast Freight Ferries, Norfolk Line, DFDS, and Seatruck.
Profile of the former Belfast to Liverpool ferry NORSE LAGAN. Includes an overview of her history, technical specifications, and photographs.
This weeks “Blast from the Past” is a menu from the Belfast – Liverpool ferry ST COLUM I, probably dating from the period shortly before the Belfast Car Ferries/Belfast Ferries service ended in October 1990 due to the use of the Belfast Ferries brand instead of “Belfast Car Ferries’.
The Ro-Ro freighter VOMERO was chartered by Norse Irish Ferries in 1995 as a stop-gap following the return of NORSE MERSEY (i) to Stena until the arrival of the brand-new NORSE MERSEY (ii) from Visentini. VOMERO also operated in U.K. waters as IPSWICH PIONEER II and AQUILA.
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
Profile of Stena Line’s Visentini-built RoPax sister-ships STENA LAGAN (IMO: 9329849) and STENA MERSEY (IMO: 9329851), which operate on the Belfast – Liverpool route. Includes an overview of their history, technical specifications, and photographs of the vessels inside and out.
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