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25th June 2004

ILV Granuaile III in Larne

The Irish Lights tender Granuaile III paid a visit to Larne and the surrounding coast on Friday the 25th June 2004.  She carried out maintenance and checks on the Maidens lighthouse and the various navigation buoys around the harbour.

Keeping up the reputation of her two predecessors, Granuaile I and Granuaile II, as the bad weather boats the great weather on Friday was replaced by some howling wind and lashing rain on Saturday.

(left) ILV Granuaile III at the south end of Larne harbour just off the Ballylumford Oil Jetty on Friday 25th June 2004.  Photo: Jimmy Dowey (click to enlarge)

21st June 2004

Stena Seafarer out of service

Larne - Fleetwood vessel Stena Seafarer missed her scheduled 1600hrs sailings on Thursday the 17th, Friday the 18th and Sunday the 20th of June due to technical problems.  She spent the time she was off service at anchor or else at a free berth in the harbour undergoing repairs.  She performed tests on the repairs at Curran Quay on the evening of the 20th of June and then re-entered service with her 1600hrs sailing on Monday the 21st of June.

16th June 2004

(Almost) Second Cruise Ship to visit Larne

Hebridean Princess the former Caledonian MacBrayne Western Isles ferry Columba turned cruise ship made a welcome call at the small village of Glenarm, 12 miles north of Larne.  She arrived off the harbour and anchored at 1330 after departing Peel on the morning of the 16th of June.  Her passengers were ferries ashore by the ships tender for a tour of the most southerly of the famous nine Glens of Antrim.

Two views of Hebridean Princess at Glenarm on 16th June 2004.  Photos: Larne Ferry Web (click to enlarge) With this ship with ferry heritage behind her making a call very close to Larne reminds me of an excellent photo supplied to LFW by Aubrey Dale of the preserved vessel Balmoral on the occasion of her visit to Larne on the 11th of June 1988, as pictured left departing Larne with quite a crowd on deck.  Photo: Aubrey Dale (click to enlarge)

13th June 2004

Special Trip for European Causeway

The rare sight of both European Highlander and European Causeway in port together was repeated in the small hours of the 13th of June when the European Causeway was drafted in to take a special charter sailing from Larne - Cairnryan.

Music superstars Red Hot Chilli Peppers, playing in Dublin on the evening of the 12th of June, chartered the vessel to convey themselves and their entourage to Scotland to continue their tour.  The European Causeway arrived in Larne at 0045 berthing on Curran Quay and was scheduled to depart again for Cairnryan at 0430 with her VIP's on board.  On a Saturday night / Sunday morning the European Causeway is usually laid up in Cairnryan while European Highlander normally lays up in Larne on MacKean Quay.

5th June 2004

Seafarer on Tour

Stena Seafarer paid a quick visit to Stranraer harbour for berthing trials on Saturday 5th of June. 

She departed Larne at approx. 1330 and returned to anchor off the port once trials were complete around 1900. 

It is understood that Stena Seafarer was not an ideal fit for the Ross Pier ramp and that some modifications to her stern door will be required if she is to use the conventional berth at Stranraer in the future.

Stena Seafarer returned to her usual Larne - Fleetwood schedule with the 1600hrs sailing from Larne on the 6th of June.

13th May 2004

Two Breakdowns on Fleetwood Route

With the Stena Seafarer missing a trip due to breakdown on the 9th of May the Stena Leader also missed sailings during the past few days due to technical problems.  On the 10th of May the Stena Leader was forced to return to Larne after developing a technical problem shortly after her 2200hrs sailing from Larne, she berthed at Larne early the next morning to discharge her cargo.  The crew managed to make repairs so that she only missed the round sailings on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th of May.

The Stena Seafarer covered the sailings of the Stena Leader during her absence, while the Stena Seafarer's own sailings (departing Larne at 1600hrs and Fleetwood at 0300hrs) were cancelled.

9th May 2004

Fleetwood Vessel's Repainting Complete

The repainting of the former Fleetwood ships into their new Stena colours was completed on the 8th of May 2004 when European Seafarer became Stena Seafarer.

Her first sailing in the new colours was the 1600hrs service to Fleetwood on the 9th of May but this had to be aborted shortly after leaving Larne when the Stena Seafarer developed a technical problem.  She returned to Larne and he crew resolved the problem in time to pick up her schedule with the 1600hrs sailing on the 10th of May.

Access photos of all the ships being repainted by clicking here

1st May 2004

Funchal returns to Larne

The cruise ship Funchal returned to Larne on the 1st of May and the feature page has been updated with new pictures of her arrival and departure.  Click here to access it.

1st May 2004

European Pioneer becomes Stena Pioneer

The former European Pioneer was renamed Stena Pioneer and had her Stena Line markings on the funnel finished during weekend lay up in Belfast.  The vessel departed Larne at 0730 and arrived at Stena Line's conventional ferry berth in Belfast at 0900hrs for lay up and repainting. 

Back at Larne the European Seafarer covered the absence of the European Pioneer taking the larger ship's scheduled 1000hrs sailing, which got away from Larne at 12 noon.

The European Pioneer returned to Larne on the 2nd of May, this time under her new name Stena Pioneer around 0815 and picked up her usual schedule with the 1000hrs sailing from Larne the same morning.

Once discharge was complete after arriving on the morning of the 2nd of May the European Seafarer was laid up for the rest of the day either at anchor or on Continental Quay between sailings.  Her normal Sunday 1600hrs service on the 2nd of May was cancelled due to the May bank holiday on the 3rd of May.  She is due to re-commence sailings with her 1600hrs sailing from Larne on the 3rd of May.

To view the latest status of the Fleetwood ships undergoing repainting click here.

28th April 2004

Coastal Cargo Vessel Natacha arrives in Larne

A second coaster in a week arrived in the port on Wednesday 28th April when the Natacha arrived at Olderfleet Quay shortly after 1800 with a load of silver sand.  The vessel departed again on Thursday the 29th of April.

24th April 2004

Fribulk Arrives at Larne

The 1840 gross tons coastal cargo vessel Fribulk paid a visit to Larne on the 24th of April.  She berthed on Olderfleet Quay at 1730 with the assistance of local tug Sarah McLoughlin.  The 1971 built vessel's last visit to the port was Friday the 21st of March 2003.  See here for more details.  She departed later on in the week after discharging her load of chippings.

24th April 2004

First Fleetwood Ship Officially Gets Renamed

The European Leader became the first of the Fleetwood vessels to receive her new Stena name at Larne on the 24th of April.  She was on weekend lay up allowing painting to continue on her funnel which is now adored with the Stena S in white.  Scaffolding was built over her sides to allow crew members to paint out European on the hull and add in her new name Stena Leader. 

She sailed for the first time under her new name out to anchor from Curran Quay at 1545 to allow the European Mariner into that berth to load for her 1900 Troon sailing.  After the European Seafarer had departed Continental Quay on her usual afternoon sailing to Fleetwood the Stena Leader returned to port to load for her first commercial voyage under her new name - the 2200hrs service to Fleetwood on the 24th of April.

Keep up to date with how painting and renaming of all 3 Fleetwood vessel is progressing by clicking here

20th April 2004

Cruise Ship Funchal Visits Larne Harbour

See a special feature page on this by clicking here

20th April 2004

European Ambassador makes surprise call at Larne

The former P&O Dublin - Mostyn vessel European Ambassador paid a brief call to Larne harbour on the 20th of April.  She was wearing the P&O flag on her funnel but had lost the P&O markings on her hull and forward superstructure below the bridge.  She was brought in by Captain Nick Spencer, on his last voyage before retirement, and berthed bow first on Curran Quay at 0045hrs after having departed Liverpool at approx 1730hrs.
 

19th April 2004:

P&O Handover to Stena Line on the Fleetwood Route

At 1500hrs on Monday the 19th of April Stena Line officially took control of the former P&O route from Larne to Fleetwood.  The last scheduled outward sailing under P&O control was the 1600hrs service of the European Seafarer under the command of Captain Hughes.  This sailing commenced loading before the handover and for insurance reasons it was to be completed by P&O.  The final inbound P&O sailing was the 1800hrs arrival of the European Leader under the command of Captain Jamison.

The European Leader took the first outbound Stena Line sailing at 2200hrs, marking Stena Line's return to Larne after an absence of 8 and a half years.  The last commercial Stena Line service to sail from Larne was on the 11th of November 1995 when the Stena Antrim left with the last sailing to Stranraer at 2000hrs.

European Highlander Returns From Dry Dock
 

The European Highlander returned from dry dock at approx 0830 on Sunday the 18th of April.  She recommenced sailings with the 1030 sailing from Larne to Cairnryan that same morning.  This was an extra sailing as normally the 1030 service only operates on a Sunday during July and August. 

The European Causeway also provided an extra 1030 service from Cairnryan allowing both ships to get back on their normal cycles.
 

The European Seafarer discharged her load from Cairnryan at MacKean Quay and then shifted to Continental Quay to load for her 1600hrs service to Fleetwood once the European Pioneer had departed at 1115.

Rope man Paul Garrett does some nifty paint work at the bow of the European Pioneer while the ship's master does an equally nifty job keeping the ship within reach.  Photo: Larne Ferry Web (click to enlarge)

The European Pioneer left the berth as normal and then proceeded to inch alongside the forward dolphin of Continental Quay to allow the rope men to paint over a savage looking scrape on her port bow. 

She then left on a northerly course on a tribute sail past Captain Brian Gordon's house at Drains Bay, two miles north of Larne.  The 18th of April was Captain Gordon's final day with P&O, most recently he served as master of the European Leader.  Larne Ferry Web wishes Captain Gordon all the best in his future career.

18th April 2004

Stena Handover Gathers Pace

The three Fleetwood vessels have been gradually losing their P&O markings in readiness for the handover of the ships and the route to Stena Line, which is still on course for 1500hrs on the 19th of April.

European Pioneer: Lost her P&O hull markings on the 17th of April alongside the berth at Larne while she was loading for her 1100hrs sailing to Fleetwood.  Only the P&O flag logo remains.  On the 18th of April the lower part of the funnel was painted red.

European Leader lost the P&O on the starboard side of her hull on the 10th of April, between times she has also lost the port side small logo just below the bridge.  By 18th of April the starboard side of the funnel was in grey primer and the port side had scaffolding up around it ready for more painting.

European Seafarer is currently having a bit of an identity crisis.  Most recently serving the Cairnryan route while the European Highlander was in dry dock, on the 16th of April she only had the small P&O markings on the forward superstructure painted out and her name plates above the bridge were showing the name E Seafarer.  During an extended lay up at Cairnryan on the 16th of April the starboard side name plate had become Stena Seafarer and the bottom half of her funnel was painted red.  By her final Cairnryan sailing on the 18th of April the P&O flag was first observed removed from the starboard side of the funnel, this was later fully painted red while she was loading to sail for Fleetwood at 1600hrs and on the port side E Seafarer had also become Stena Seafarer.  The P&O name on the hull was also partially covered; the port side one was half covered in grey primer while the starboard side one was painted over completely.

All three vessels have 21 days after the handover to have their names changed and their livery correct.  European Pioneer is scheduled to have a stop over in Belfast to complete her painting in early May.

16th April 2004

Easter Holiday Sailing Alterations

Cairnryan Service:
The conventional ferry service was maintained over Easter from the 10th of April until the 18th by the European Causeway and European Seafarer on a temporary timetable which can be found below (see 10th April story).

This was thrown into chaos on Wednesday the 14th of April when the European Seafarer developed technical problems.  The ship arrived in Larne at 1800 and required tug assistance to berth.  Her sailings were later cancelled and she was laid up on Curran Quay for repairs.  The following day the European Mariner was used to provide a day time sailing to Cairnryan to cover, departing Larne at 1300.  The European Mariner returned to Larne at 2000hrs and sailed on her delayed 1900hrs Troon sailing as soon as she was loaded.  By this time the European Seafarer was repaired and she restarted with her 2000hrs sailing on the 15th.  The European Seafarer was still running late and to catch up her schedule she missed her 0730 sailing from Cairnryan to Larne on Friday the 16th of April to catch up.

Superstar Express sailings to both Cairnryan and Troon were unaltered during the holiday season but were running late due to near capacity loads on most sailings.  She had one cancelled Troon sailing on the evening of Wednesday the 14th of April due to adverse weather.

Fleetwood Service:
A two ship service in operation from the 9th of April until the 18th using European Pioneer and European Leader.  three ship service restarted with the European Seafarer's 1600hrs service on the 18th of April.

Troon freight;
European Mariner completed her sailings with the 0645 arrival in Larne on Saturday the 10th of April.  She restarted sailings with her 1900 sailing on Tuesday the 13th of April.  Over Easter she was laid up on Curran Quay.

10th April 2004

European Highlander to Dry Dock

Larne - Cairnryan vessel European Highlander was withdrawn from service on the 10th of April for her annual dry docking.  The ship finished with her 1730 inbound arrival on the 10th of April and departed for dry dock in Birkenhead at 1815, arriving there early the following morning.  See pictures on Irish Sea Shipping here.

Meanwhile, to cover the absence of the European Highlander the European Seafarer was transferred to the Cairnryan service.  The Fleetwood route had dropped back to a 2 ship service on Friday the 9th using just the European Pioneer (1000hrs ex Larne) and European Leader (2200hrs ex Larne), the European Seafarer had finished with her 1100hrs arrival in Larne on the 9th.  She then laid up at anchor or on a free berth in the harbour until commencing Cairnryan sailings with the 2000hrs service from MacKean Quay on the 10th of April.

While the European Seafarer was engaged on the service a temporary conventional ferry schedule was operated between the 10th and the 18th of April as follows using MacKean Quay for all arrivals and departures:

Superstar Express sailings were unaffected and continued as normal.

Superstar Express Commences Summer Season Service at Larne
 

Superstar Express commenced her summer season sailings with the 0740 service to Troon on Thursday the 8th of April.  Captain Kevin Allen was the vessel's master for the first sailing.

Having spent the winter, from last September, at A&P Birkenhead the vessel returned to Larne after dry docking early on the 14th of March for final repainting and internal refurbishment before taking up service.

Her summer season is scheduled to last until the 19th of September, during which time she will complete two round trips per day between Larne and Troon (dep Larne 0740 and 1900) in addition to two round trips to Cairnryan (dep Larne 1245 and 1555).  The vessel's full schedule is:

Larne - Troon dep Larne 0740 arr Troon 0930
Troon - Larne dep Troon 1015 arr Larne 1205

Larne - Cairnryan dep Larne 1245 arr Cairnryan 1345
Cairnryan - Larne dep Cairnryan 1420 arr Larne 1520

Larne - Cairnryan dep Larne 1555 arr Cairnryan 1655
Cairnryan - Larne dep Cairnryan 1730 arr Larne 1830

Larne - Troon dep Larne 1900 arr Troon 2050
Troon - Larne dep Troon 2125 arr Larne 2315 then overnight lay up in Larne.

Larne: Chaine Quay used for all arrivals and departures.
Cairnryan: North berth (No2) used for all arrivals and departures.
Troon: P&O Irish Sea freight berth used for all arrivals and departures.

Stena Line put their name up at Larne once more
 

During a quick look in the Larne ferry terminal on the 4th of April found a view that hasn't been present since 1995.  Above their former offices in the terminal the name Stena Line is displayed once more in Larne.
 

In preparation for their imminent take over of P&O's Larne - Fleetwood route, scheduled now for the 19th of April, the former office space occupied by Stena Line in Larne's passenger terminal has been getting a thorough clean out and spruce up.  New computer work stations have been fitted and everything is virtually ready for the shore staff to move in. 

The new logos are pictured right on 4th April 2004.  Photo: Larne Ferry Web (click to enlarge)