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| 12th August 2004 Former Jaguar / Stena Timer scrapped The former Fleetwood vessel Jaguar, which also served Stranraer as Stena Timer, has recently been reportedly sold for breaking in China. The ship was sold by her Mexican owners to Middle Eastern interests earlier this year (see 26th May story below). Her new owners have sold her for scrap. She is pictured right as Jaguar at the Isle of Man berth in Fleetwood (photo: Clive Jackson)
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This chalks up the first of the Stena Seaporter class to be scrapped. The 3 Seaporters and their close relatives, the trio of Siestas sisters, have all served Larne with distinction for many years. Remaining Seaporters are the Black Iris (ex European Navigator / Leopard / Viking Trader) serving in the Red Sea and Neptunia (ex Darnia) which is serving in the Caribbean. The Siestas sisters still serve Larne as Stena Pioneer, Stena Seafarer and Stena Leader. |
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| 6th June 2004
Former Lion goes for Scrap |
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The Belfast - Ardrossan ferry Lion (built 1967 and not to be mistaken for the current European Mariner which also held the name) has recently passed to breakers in Chittagong, Bangladesh. She arrived for beaching on the 24th of April and most recently served in Indonesia as Adinda Lestari 101. While engaged on the
Belfast - Ardrossan route during the day the Lion sailed overnight
with freight into Larne from January 1970 until February 1976 when she was
withdrawn from the Ardrossan service and transferred to the Dover -
Boulogne route for P&O Normandy Ferries. |
 The Lion pictured in her English Channel days on the Dover - Boulogne route. Photo: Roy Thornton Collection click to enlarge |
| She mainly
served the Boulogne route but also starred on P&O's other service in the
Western Channel between Southampton and Le Havre as relief ship. She
transferred to Townsend Thoresen in 1985 when they bought P&O Normandy
Ferries, but her stay was brief and TT sold her to Marlines of Greece in
April 1985 when she was renamed Baroness M.
She was back in British waters in the summers of 1987 and 1988 sailing to the Channel Islands from Weymouth as Portelet on charter. She was returned to Greece in the autumn of 1988 resuming the name Baroness M. She remained in service around Greece until 1997 when she was sold to Indonesia. She adopted her last name Adinda Lestari 101 in 2002 A sad end to a fine looking ship. Links: Lion on
faktaomfartyg |
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| 26th May 2004
News of the former Stena Timer / Jaguar |
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| A former Larne veteran, most recently
trading across the Gulf of California in Mexico, has recently been sold by
her owners for new service elsewhere.
Serving the Larne - Fleetwood route on charter
as Jaguar from 1977 to 1978 and later the Larne - Stranraer
route as Stena Timer for a number of short spells between January
1979 and February 1980, the vessel crossed the Atlantic in April 1981 when
Stena Line sold her to the Mexican Government shipping company Semateur
who renamed her Loreto. |
 The Jaguar pictured at Fleetwood with the Buffalo (now Stena Leader), then only 2 years old, in the background at the ro-ro berth. Photo: Clive Jackson (click to enlarge) |
| Now the Mexican Government has
recently sold Loreto as well as another ship in their fleet to an
unknown concern from the United Arab Emirates. Loreto is to
trade in the Persian Gulf as Ajman 2 and may just run into her
sister vessel, the former European Navigator, which is operating in
the Red Sea as Black Iris as well as the former Larne vessel Europic Ferry
now serving the Persian Gulf as Ajman Glory (see 28th March story
below). Stena Timer on
faktaomfartyg |
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| 1st April 2004 Larne - Stranraer Relief Vessel Norröna to have new role |
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 The Norröna pictured entering Larne on the 17th of April 1995 will become a Christian Mission ship in 2005. Photo: Aubrey Dale (click to enlarge) |
The Norröna, which served the Larne - Stranraer route for 3 months in 1995 has recently been bought by Operation Mobilisation, the Christian Mission Group. The ship is currently called Norröna I
ever since a new Norröna entered service in 2003. The old ship was
given the suffix I to her name and was laid up awaiting sale.
Unfortunately the new Norröna holed herself while berthing at Torshaven
(Faeroe Isles) on the 15th of January 2004 so the Norröna I was called up
from mothballs on
the 17th of January to take the new ship's place while she went in for repairs. |
| The Norröna I continued in service until
the end of March when she was once again replaced by the new Norröna
fresh from her repairs. Returning to lay up at Copenhagen the Norröna I
was sold on the 31st of March to Operation Mobilisation. She is due to
take the name Logos Hope and is set to replace the existing Logos II
in 2005. Press release accessible here: Visit the LOGOS HOPE website: www.LogosHope.org Norröna at faktaomfartyg (Thanks to Jimmy Dowey for the info) |
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| 28th March 2004 Is she scrapped or isn't she? Larne - Cairnryan's Europic Ferry / European Freighter |
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 The Europic Ferry entering Larne on the 24th of September 1988 was reported to be heading to Alang, India for scrap in November 2003. But it seems she had other plans. Photo: Aubrey Dale (click to enlarge) |
Reported to have been sent to Alang in India for scrapping the former Larne - Cairnryan vessel Europic Ferry (1983 - 1992) / European Freighter (1992 - 1993) and Falklands War veteran seems to have eluded the breakers torch for now. Back in November 2003 this website brought the sad news that this fine looking old lady had went the way of her former operating partner Ionic Ferry (II), which had previously went for breaking in Turkey in April 2003.
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After a protracted lay up under her name of Afrodite II, which she held since her departure from Larne in April 1993, the ex Europic Ferry was renamed Ajman Glory and sailed from lay up in Askatos in November 2003. Amazingly, she turned up in Dubai recently for a 10 day dry docking before taking up trade between Iraq and India. Long may this charger live on. (Thanks to Richard Seville for the info.) Europic Ferry at faktaomfartyg Europic Ferry at LFW |
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| 11th March 2004 Former Larne - Cairnryan vessel Free Enterprise III almost sunk |
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 Free Enterprise III in the colours she appeared while in service at Larne (Townsend Thoresen was written in white on the hull instead of Townsend in red on the superstructure though). She had the distinction of being the first dedicated passenger ship on the Cairnryan route when she served during the summer of 1974. Latterly serving as a pilgrim carrier in the Red Sea she was almost lost. Photo: Roy Thornton Collection (click to enlarge) |
The first dedicated passenger vessel to
serve the Larne to Cairnryan route, the former Free Enterprise III
looks to be an almost certain loss after having to be abandoned near
the Saudi Arabian coast. Her only visit to Larne occurred in 1974 when she served for Townsend Thoresen on the Cairnryan route from 1st July to 10th October 1974. At this time she wore the pale green TT hull and red funnel as pictured left. After being sold from TT service in 1984 to
Malta as the Tamira she returned to the Irish Sea in 1985 to the
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company as Mona's Isle. After a
problematic first season she was sold on again in 1986 for Red Sea pilgrim
trade as the Al Fahad. |
| She was photographed on the
11th of March 204 aground on the Saudi coast near Jeddah, apparently she
was abandoned after taking a heavy list. In view of her age and
predicament, her future career looks to be far from bright. Full report and pictures at Piet Sinke's Maritime News Letter here (right click link and select "save target as" to copy file to your hard disc; then to access open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Pictures and story a couple of pages in, scroll down till you find it.) Free Enterprise III at faktaomfartyg |
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