Spirit class (1980)
 The Herald of Free Enterprise in the colors of Townsend Thoresen
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The Spirit class was a series of three ferries that were commissioned by the British shipping company Townsend Thoresen near Schichau Unterweser in Bremerhaven and put into service in 1980. While the second Herald of Free Enterprise unit built was damaged after only seven years of service and scrapped as a total loss , the other two ships in the class had a service life of over 30 years.
history
Planning and construction
The three ships of the Spirit class were built in 1979 at Schichau Unterweser in Bremerhaven for Townsend Thoresen and were supposed to be the largest ships of the shipping company that had existed since 1968. On July 21, 1979, the type ship of the class was launched with the Spirit of Free Enterprise . This was followed by the Herald of Free Enterprise on December 12, 1979 and the Pride of Free Enterprise on May 31, 1980.
The three sister ships had different dimensions despite the same design. However, there were no differences in terms of appearance, equipment or vehicle and passenger capacity.
The ships of the Spirit class were particularly noticeable for their modern appearance, which was designed by the British naval architect James Ayers. The new class of ships was intended to be a response to the St. Blackbirds commissioned by the British shipping company Sealink from Harland & Wolff and its sister ships, which also entered service in 1980.
Service time for Townsend Thoresen
The Spirit of Free Enterprise was delivered on January 11, 1980 as the first of the three ships and put into service on January 14 on the route from Dover to Calais and from Dover to Zeebrugge . The Herald of Free Enterprise followed on May 29, 1980. As the last ship of the class, the Pride of Free Enterprise was put into service on November 23, 1980 , after it had previously been viewed from November 17 to 20 at the Pool of London .
Herald of Free Enterprise disaster
On March 6, 1987, the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in front of the port of Zeebrugge after the bow visor of the ship had not been closed. In order to be able to moor at the loading ramps in Zeebrugge, the ballast tanks had been flooded, so that the Herald of Free Enterprise was deeper than usual in the water. Added to this was the suction effect caused by the relatively shallow water in the port of Zeebrugge during the voyage, which pulled the ship downwards and so water could penetrate into the unlocked car deck. 193 people were killed in the accident. The ship, written off as a total write-off, was later lifted and scrapped as Flushing Range in Taiwan in 1988 .
Support for P&O European Ferries and P&O Stena Line
Townsend Thoresen ceased operations in October 1987. Like all units of the fleet and the two remaining ships were Spirit class of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company belonging to P & O European Ferries taken over and renamed. The Spirit of Free Enterprise was henceforth called the Pride of Kent , the Pride of Free Enterprise became the Pride of Bruges . From December 1987, the ships were in service between Dover and Zeebrugge under their new owner. From November 1991 the Pride of Bruges switched to the route from Dover to Calais, the Pride of Kent followed it in June 1992.
The Pride of Kent was rebuilt in 1991 at Fincantieri in Palermo and lengthened from 131.96 to 163.39, which now clearly differentiates her from her sister ship.
In March 1998, both sister ships went to the also the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company and Stena Line is part of P & O Stena Line . The Pride of Bruges became P & OSL Picardy , and the Pride of Kent became P & OSL Kent . However, the change of operator did not change anything in the area of operation of the ships.
Further whereabouts
The P & OSL Kent went in October 2002 as PO Kent to the newly established P & O Ferries , after the P & O Stena Line had been dissolved in the same year. The P & OSL Picardy was already sold in April 2001 and has been in use since July 2002 under the name Oleander for Transeuropa Ferries between Ostend and Ramsgate .
The PO Kent was also sold in July 2003 and put into service in December 2003 as Anthi Marina for the Greek shipping company GA Ferries between Piraeus , Kos and Rhodes . In September 2008, the ship had to because of financial difficulties of the shipping company and high operating costs placed be and was in April 2012 in the Turkish Aliağa scrapped.
The Oleander was chartered to the Moroccan ferry company Comarit in June 2010 and to Acciona Trasmediterránea in May 2012 . 2013, it changed its name to Sherbatskiy before they also launched in November 2015 and then in December 2015 as the last existing ship of the Spirit class in the Indian Alang was scrapped.
Overview
| Surname | Build number | IMO | delivery | measurement | Status / whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit of Free Enterprise | 2279 | 7820473 | January 11, 1980 | 7,951 GT | Scrapped in 2012 |
| Herald of Free Enterprise | 2280 | 7820485 | May 1980 | 7,950 GT | Damaged in 1987, scrapped in 1988 |
| Pride of Free Enterprise | 2281 | 7820497 | October 31, 1980 | 7,951 GT | Scrapped in 2015 |
reception
In the song Herald of Free Enterprise by the Belgian musician Milow , published in 2008, the sister ships Spirit of Free Enterprise and Pride of Free Enterprise are mentioned in addition to the misfortune of the ship of the same name . The last verse of the song says:
" Pride and Spirit changed their names. They were all doomed since they were built "
“ Pride and Spirit changed their names. They have all been doomed since they were built. "
Web links
- History and technical specifications of the Spirit class on ferryfantastic.webs.com (English)
- The Spirit of Free Enterprise on faktaomfartyg.se (Swedish)
- The Herald of Free Enterprise on faktaomfartyg.se (Swedish)
- The Pride of Free Enterprise on faktaomfartyg.se (Swedish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bruce Peter: MS Spirit of Free Enterprise / Oleander. May 1, 2010, accessed May 14, 2016 .
- ^ Ray Goodfellow: Mv Spirit of Free Enterprise, Past and Present. February 1, 2016, accessed May 14, 2016 .
- ^ Ray Goodfellow: Mv Pride of Free Enterprise, Past and Present. February 1, 2016, accessed May 14, 2016 .
- ↑ Herald of Free Enterprise Lyrics. Retrieved May 14, 2016 .