Townsend Thoresen
| Townsend Thoresen | |
|---|---|
| legal form | |
| founding | 1968 |
| resolution | 1987 |
| Reason for dissolution | Replaced by P&O European Ferries |
| Seat |
Dover , UK
|
| Branch | Shipping company |
Townsend Thoresen (also with European Ferries ) was a British shipping company that was founded in 1968 and operated several ferries and RoRo freighters from mainland Europe to Great Britain . It was dissolved in 1987 after the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise with 193 dead and replaced by the newly founded shipping company P&O European Ferries (later P&O Ferries ).
history
Townsend Thoresen was formed in 1968 from the merger of Townsend Brothers Ferries and Thoresen Car Ferries. The Dover- based shipping company used its ships on the English Channel from Calais and Zeebrugge to Dover and Scotland.
The ships of Townsend Thoresen could be recognized from afar by their striking red hull painting and the white lettering of the shipping company. Townsend Thoresen's best-known units were the eight Free Enterprise ships and the Spirit class introduced in 1980 .
On March 6, 1987, the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in front of the port of Zeebrugge. 193 people were killed in the accident, the ship was written off as a total write- off and scrapped in 1988. For Townsend Thoresen, the sinking of one of their largest and most modern ships represented a great loss of image.
In the same year the shipping company was dissolved and replaced by the newly founded P&O European Ferries. All of Townsend Thoresen's ships were taken over by the new company. In 2002 P&O European Ferries became the still active shipping company P&O Ferries.
Passenger ships
| year | Surname | tonnage | shipyard | Status / fate |
| 1968 (1962) | Free Enterprise I. | 3880 GRT | IHC Holland, Schiedam | Sold in 1980, scrapped in Aliağa in 2013 |
| 1968 (1965) | Free Enterprise II | 5956 GRT | IHC Holland, Schiedam | Sold in 1982, scrapped in Alang in 2003 |
| 1968 (1966) | Free Enterprise III | 6889 GRT | IHC Holland, Schiedam | Sold in 1984, before 2004 Jidda havariert |
| 1968 (1964) | Viking I | 5440 GRT | Kaldnes Mekaniske Verksted, Tønsberg | Sold in 1976, scrapped in Aliağa in 2008 |
| 1968 (1964) | Viking II | 3670 GRT | Kaldnes Mekaniske Verksted, Tønsberg | Sold in 1976, dropped in 2011 |
| 1968 (1965) | Viking III | 3824 GRT | Orenstein & Koppel , Lübeck | 1982 sold as Red Star I in drive |
| 1969 | Free Enterprise IV | 5049 GRT | IHC Holland, Schiedam | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Alang in 2006 |
| 1970 | Free Enterprise V | 5044 GRT | IHC Holland, Schiedam | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Durrës in 2012 |
| 1972 | Free Enterprise VI | 4981 GRT | IHC Holland, Schiedam | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, sunk in 2005 |
| 1973 | Free Enterprise VII | 4981 GRT | IHC Holland, Schiedam | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, capsized off Serang in 2015 |
| 1974 | Free Enterprise VIII | 5170 GRT | Verolme Scheepswerf, Alblasserdam | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Aliağa in 2011 |
| 1975 | Viking Venturer | 6387 GRT | Aalborg Værft , Aalborg | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Alang in 2010 |
| 1975 | Viking Valiant | 6387 GRT | Aalborg Værft, Aalborg | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Alang in 2010 |
| 1976 | Viking Voyager | 6386 GRT | Aalborg Værft, Aalborg | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Aliağa in 2011 |
| 1976 | Viking Viscount | 6386 GRT | Aalborg Værft, Aalborg | 1987 P & O European Ferries, as Vitsentzos Kornaros in drive |
| 1978 (1975) | Stena Nordica | 5443 GRT | Rickmers shipyard , Bremerhaven | Chartered from Stena Line until 1979 , scrapped in Aliağa in 2015 |
| 1980 | Spirit of Free Enterprise | 7951 GRT | Schichau Unterweser , Bremerhaven | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Aliağa in 2012 |
| 1980 | Herald of Free Enterprise | 7950 GRT | Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven | Capsized off Zeebrugge in 1987, scrapped in Kaohsiung in 1988 |
| 1980 | Pride of Free Enterprise | 7951 GRT | Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Alang in 2015 |
| 1985 (1972) | Panther | 3960 GRT | Helsingør Skibsværft, Helsingør | Chartered by P&O until 1986, scrapped in Alang in 2005 |
| 1985 (1972) | tiger | 3960 GRT | Helsingør Skibsværft, Helsingør | Chartered by P&O until 1986, as an expedition underway |
| 1985 (1968) | leopard | 6113 GRT | Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes | Sold in 1986, scrapped in Alang in 2004 |
| 1985 (1967) | Ionic Ferry | 6113 GRT | Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in 2003 after a fire in Aliağa |
| 1985 (1974) | Prince Laurent | 5052 GRT | NV Boelwerf, Temse | 1986 sold as Superferry II under way |
| 1985 (1975) | Prinses Maria-Esmeralda | 5635 GRT | Cockerill-Sambre , Antwerp | Sold in 1986, scrapped in Alang in 2008 |
| 1985 (1975) | Princesse Marie-Christine | 5635 GRT | Cockerill-Sambre, Antwerp | Sold in 1986, scrapped in Alang in 2011 |
| 1985 (1978) | Prins Albert | 6019 GRT | Cockerill-Sambre, Antwerp | Sold in 1986, scrapped in Aliağa in 2012 |
| 1985 (1966) | Prinses Paola | 4548 GRT | Cockerill-Sambre, Antwerp | Sold in 1986, scrapped in Alang in 2006 |
| 1985 (1981) | Princesse Clementine | 329 GRT | Boeing Jetfoil Industries, Seattle | Sold in 1986 when the Seven Islands Niji was in service |
| 1985 (1981) | Prinses Stephanie | 329 GRT | Boeing Jetfoil Industries, Seattle | 1986 sold as Seven Islands Yume momentum |
| 1987 (1969) | Vortigern | 4797 GRT | Swan Hunter , Wallsend | Chartered by Sealink in 1987, scrapped in Alang in 2005 |
| 1987 | Pride of Dover | 26,443 GRT | Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven | 1987 to P&O European Ferries, scrapped in Aliağa in 2012 |
Web links
- List of all ships from Townsend Thoresen on faktaomfartyg.se (Swedish)
- Ships by Townsend Thoresen on doverferryphotosforums.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Townsend Thoresen`s Spirit-Class. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 8, 2012 ; accessed on May 6, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
