M/V Duc de Normandie


Duc de Normandie arriving in Portsmouth from Ouistreham.
M/V Duc de Normandie. Courtesy Brittany Ferries.

Duc de Normandie is a ferry purchased in 1986 by Brittany Ferries to operate its new route linking Ouistreham and Portsmouth. She was initially built for SMZ in 1978. She has been part of Acciona Transmediterranea’s fleet since 2005.

 

Technical Datas of M/V Duc de Normandie
M/V Duc de Normandie (1986 - 2004)
The Ship
Launch  14th January 1978
Maiden Voyage 29th June 1978 
Shipyard Verolme Scheepswerft Heusden B.V, Heusden, Netherlands
Owner SEMANC 
Operator Brittany Ferries 
Routes

Roscoff (FR) - Plymouth (GB)

Ouistreham (FR) - Portsmouth (GB) 

IMO 7637149 
Port of Registry Caen, Normandie, France 
Technical Datas
Length 131.60 m 
Breadth 22.00 m 
Draught 05.15 m 
Tonnage
Gross Tonnage 9,365 GT 
Net Tonnage 4,862 NT 
Deadweight 1,850 t 
Engines specifications
Engines 4 Stork Werkspoor 8TM410LL 
Power 16,182 kW 
Speed 23.00 knots (service) 
Passengers & Cargo
Passengers Capacity 1,500 passengers 
Cabins 572 berths proposed 
Garage Capacity  350 cars

Service History

Duc de Normandie arriving in Portsmouth.
Duc de Normandie. Courtesy Brittany Ferries.

Princess Beatrix was built in 1978 for Dutch company SMZ, using commercial name Sealink in order to operate services between Hoek von Holland and Harwich.

She was purchased by the Société d’Économie Mixte d’Armement Naval du Calvados for £12 millions on 1st October 1985, although Sealink chartered her for a few months.

After having been refurbished and renamed Duc de Normandie, she established Brittany Ferries’ new service between Ouistreham and Portsmouth on 5th June 1986. She as joined on this route in 1988 for one year by Gotland, and in 1989 by Reine Mathilde, enabling the operation of the route with two ships.

In readiness the introduction of her successor on the Ouistreham service, Mont Saint Michel, Brittany Ferries transferred Duc de Normandie on 10th June 2002 on the Roscoff – Plymouth route, where she was to replaced Quiberon. However, due to Mont Saint Michel being delivered much behind scheduled, Quiberon had to be transferred to the Ouistreham service rather than being decommissioned after having been replaced by Duc de Normandie.

In 2005, Brittany Ferries sold Duc de Normandie to TransEuropa Ferries, which renamed her Wisteria for service between Ramsgate and Ostend. She was then chartered by Ferrimaroc and Acciona Transmediterranea for operation between Almeria (EP) and Nador (MAR). However, she was at first chartered only during the summer season on this route, being operated between Ostend and Ramsgate the rest of the year. She was only chartered year-round by Acciona Transmediterranea after 2008. After the bankruptcy of her owner in 2013, she was sold to Nizhniy Shipping and renamed Vronskiy. However, she remains operated by Acciona Transmediterranea.

Onboard Accommodations

Aboard Dining and Bar

  • Le Honfleur - À la carte Restaurant ; Deck 6
  • L'Estacade - Self-Service Restaurant ; Deck 6 
  • Le Devon - Thea room ; Deck 6
  • L'Alambic - Bar ; Deck 6 
  • Le Jardin de Monet - Bar ; Pont 6.

Aboard Shopping

  • Boutique (goodies and perfumes);
  • Kiosk ;
  • La Vitrine ;
  • La Boutique du Voyageur.

Passengers Accommodations

  • "DeLuxe" cabins ;
  • Outside cabins with 4 berths ;
  • Outside cabins with 2 berths ;
  • Inside cabins with 4 berths ;
  • Inside cabins with 2 berths ;
  • Reclining seats.

Entertainment

  • 2 Cinemas room ; Deck 6 ;
  • Videos Games room ; Deck 6 ;
  • Slot Machines room ; Deck 6 ;
  • Inside playground for children ; Deck 6 ;
  • Musical entertainment ; Deck 6.

Photo Library

See Also

References

  • In Dover Ferry Photos Forum, Goodfellow, R. ; Thornton N. ; Cloke P., 2015. [retrieved the 15/08/2015]. Available at www.doverferryphotosforums.co.uk ;
  • In Ferry Fantastic, Holland, G., 2013. [retrieved the 15/08/2015]. Available at www.ferryfantastic.webs.com ;
  • In The Ferry Site, Koefoed-Hansen, M., 2015. [retrieved 15/08/2015]. Available at www.ferry-site.dk ;
  • "MV Wisteria". In Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation and its writers, 2015. [retrieved the 15/08/2015]. Available at en.wikipedia.org.