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Brittany Ferries

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Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.

History

1970s

The company was founded in January 1973 by Alexis Gouvernnec, and began sailings between Roscoff in Brittany and Plymouth in the south of England. The company was called BAI (Bretagne-Angleterre-Irelande) and their first ship was the Kerisinel. The following year a brand-new purpose-built ship named the Penn-Ar-Bed entered service on the route following its popularity with both freight drivers and passengers alike.

By 1976 a second-hand ship had been purchased for the additional service between the new ferry port in Portsmouth and St Malo. The Armorique was much more luxurious than its fleetmates. By 1978, Brittany Ferries (as BAI was now called) switched the Armorique to its new Plymouth-Spain service. This docked at Santander on the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Sailings from the port of Roscoff to Cork (Ireland) also began. To cover the Armorique on the St Malo route, the Prince of Brittany, also a second-hand ship, was introduced.

1980s

The company continued to grow, and despite financial difficulties in the early 1980s a second ship was chartered for the St Malo route. The Goelo was an attractive-looking vessel, but left the fleet in preparation for the new ship to be introduced in 1982. The Quiberon replaced the Armorique on the Santander and Cork services, allowing her to operate alongside the Prince of Brittany on the St Malo route. The Cournailles maintained the original Roscoff route.

The early 1980s saw two new ships for the Roscoff route as the Cornouailles was chartered to another company. The Benodet operated on the route for just one year before being used as part of Brittany Ferries' new venture, Channel Island Ferries. The Tregastel replaced her and continued on the route until 1989. In 1985 Brittany Ferries further expanded by buying Truckline, which operated freight-only ships between Poole (UK) and Cherbourg (France). Its two ships, the Coutances and the Purbeck, were lengthened as part of Brittany Ferries' investment.

In 1986, Brittany Ferries introduced the largest ship on the channel, the Duc De Normandie, which operated a new route between the increasingly popular port of Portsmouth and Ouistreham, near Caen (France). The new route was an incredible success and more tonnage was introduced in the following years.

The former Roscoff ship Cornouailles was transferred to the Truckline Ferries route from Poole to Cherbourg, introducing passenger services on this route, aiming to provide a cheaper no-frills service to France. This service was also very successful and new ships were introduced over the next few years. Meanwhile, a second (chartered) ship was installed on the Caen service, as well as a new Truckline vessel, the Normandie Shipper.

In 1989 it was all change following the introduction of the cruise ferry Bretagne. She was a new build and introduced new standards of luxury. She displaced the Quiberon, which transferred to the Roscoff route. Tregastel replaced Cornouailles on the Poole-Cherbourg Truckline Ferries passenger route along with Corbiere (formerly the Benodet who had been transferred to Channel Island Ferries). A second-hand purchase was introduced on the St Malo route, the Duchesse Anne. which was to run alongside the Armorique. This allowed the Prince of Brittany to be transferred to the Caen route under its new name the Reine Mathilde.

1990s

The next big reshuffle was in 1992. At the end of 1991, the Reine Mathilde left the fleet ready for the new cruise ferry the Normandie. This operated on the Caen route alongside the original ship, the Duc De Normandie. The Corbiere and Tregastel also stepped down in preparation for the new Truckine Ferries ship, the Barfleur. The two new ships proved very successful. During the 1992, the original Truckline freight vessel, Purbeck, and the St Malo ship Armorique both stepped down. The Armorique had been with the company for 16 years. The Truckline vessel was no longer needed due to the huge increase in capacity with the Barfleur. The worst season for Quiberon was in July 1992. She suffered an engine room fire where a crew member lost his life. The fire saw Quiberon out of service for a long period of time where people were re-routed to other Brittany Ferries routes during the buzy summer season. In 1993, the final new ship of the 1990s was introduced. The Val De Loire, Ex. Nils Holgersson of TT-Line (1987) was purchased and partially rebuilt for service on the Santander and Cork routes. The 31,000 tonne vessel replaced the Bretagne which transferred to the St Malo route, allowing the Duchesse Anne to operate new services between Poole and St Malo and Cork and St Malo. The Quiberon remained on the Roscoff route. Brittany Ferries' expansion also extended into television, with the company even owning a small stake in Westcountry Television at one stage, now ITV1 West Country.

Following further financial difficulties in the mid 1990s, these new routes were ended and the Duchesse Anne left the fleet. The Normandie Shipper was also sold, but the ex-Truckline vessel Purbeck was later chartered back by the company for use on various routes, primarily Portsmouth-Caen. In 1999, the Barfleur was repainted in Brittany Ferries colours, ending the Truckline Ferries tradition on the route. In 2001 a new fast ferry service operated between Poole and Cherbourg in partnership with Condor Ferries. The Condor Vitesse operated the service in just over two hours.

2000 and on

In 2002, a new ship, the Mont St Michel, was due to enter service between Portsmouth and Caen. The Duc De Normandie was transferred to the Roscoff route in July, whilst the Quiberon was sent to Caen to cover until the new ship arrived. The Mont St Michel was delayed until December however. The Quiberon spent the remainder of the year on the busiest Brittany Ferries route. She had been with the company for almost 21 years when she was sold in 2003. In 2004, another new ship the Pont-Aven was introduced on the Santander & Cork routes. She could travel much faster than the rest of the fleet, cutting journey times by a quarter. This allowed the Val De Loire to join the Bretagne on the St Malo route. Both ships also provided a new mid-week link to Cherbourg from Portsmouth.

In late 2004, the Duc De Normandie was withdrawn from the fleet and laid up for sale after 18 years' service. The Bretagne was transferred to the Roscoff route, leaving the Val De Loire at St Malo. The Coutances was also earmarked for disposal, but then a change of heart saw her being refitted, losing her Truckline livery in favour of the new Brittany Ferries logo.

More changes occurred in 2005 with the withdrawal of P&O's French routes from Portsmouth. A new fast craft, the Normandie Express was chartered to operate between Portsmouth and Cherbourg and Caen. In addition, the Poole-Cherbourg ship Barfleur was redeployed to operate a triangular service between Portsmouth, Poole and Cherbourg. A new ship has been announced, in part a replacement for the Coutances. At the moment the freighter has been codenamed Coutances II. There is a possibility that the Purbeck may return from operating in New Zealand and cover the Portsmouth-Cherbourg link. Barfleur returned to the Poole-Cherbourg link in November 2005.

Brittany Ferries have announced that the Val De Loire will leave the fleet in February 2006, having been sold to DFDS and renamed King of Scandinavia. They have also announced a new build for the Plymouth-Roscoff route, to be launched early 2008. In the meantime, they have taken a 2 year charter on the DFDS ship Duke of Scandinavia which will be renamed Pont L'Abbe and run on the Plymouth-Roscoff route. The Bretagne will return to the Portsmouth-St Malo route.

Current fleet

The current fleet is as follows.

Passenger/freight ferries

  • Barfleur (built 1992)
  • Bretagne (built 1989)
  • Mont St Michel (built 2002)
  • Normandie (built 1992)
  • Pont-Aven (built 2004)
  • Pont L'Abbe (built 1978, to be chartered 2006 onwards)
  • Val de Loire (built 1987, purchased 1993, sold 2006)

Freight ferries

  • Coutances (built 1978, purchased 1985)
  • Purbeck (built 1978, purchased 1985, sold 1992, rechartered in the late 1990s until 2002, was to be rechartered in 2006 but this plan appears to have been dropped.

Fast craft

  • Normandie Express (built 2000, chartered 2005)
  • Condor Vitesse (formerly known as Brittany Ferries Condor Vitesse also known as Normandie Vitesse, in use since 2001)

New Ships

  • codename Coutances II (to be deployed between Poole/Portsmouth and Cherbourg/Santander - expected delivery late 2007)
  • codename Bretagne II (to be deployed Plymouth and Roscoff - expected delivery early 2008)

Services

Regular services

Seasonal services

Seasonal services run between Plymouth and Cherbourg and St Malo, during the winter months. These are normally operated by the Bretagne, Pont-Aven or Val de Loire. It is anticipated Pont L'Abbe will take on the Val de Loire's duties on these routes.

In addition, with the refits of Normandie and Mont St Michel this Winter (2005), Val de Loire was due to provide cover. The first half of this cover will proceed as intended, although following her last sailing between Portsmouth-Caen on February 19th, the Bretagne will cover the route again, for the first time since the mid 1990s.

This Winter, the Portsmouth-Cherbourg route will be covered by Bretagne, Val de Loire and Pont L'Abbe, with the Normandie providing sailings on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

The Pont-Aven will also work the Portsmouth-St Malo route in January and February.

The Plymouth-Roscoff route will be covered by Val de Loire (January), Bretagne (February) and Pont-Aven (March), before the Pont L'Abbe arrives on the route in April.

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