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Abel Tasman (ship)
Encyclopedia
M/S Abel Tasman was a passenger/vehicle ferry
built at shipyard Nobiskrug
in Rendsburg
, Germany
in 1975.
of the TT-line (Tasmania)
- a passenger/vehicle ferry that was built at Nobiskrug in Rendsburg for the TT-line (Germany)
as the Nils Holgersson (3) for the Travemünde
- Trelleborg
route in 1975 along with her sister Peter Pan (2). In 1985 the Australian National Line
(ANL) announced they would be pulling out of the Bass Strait
run, so the Federal Government gave the Tasmanian Government the capital required to buy a suitable ferry, in compensation for placing the environmentally-sensitive Gordon River
off-limits to Hydro Tasmania
power generation schemes. This ship turned out to be the Nils Holgersson (3) from the TT-line (Germany)
, which also came with an option to buy her sister ship Peter Pan (2) one year later (which never came to pass).
The Abel Tasman first went back to her builder's yard for a refit, and for a large box-like structure to be added to the stern of the ship for the crew, because the Australian maritime union rules didn’t allow the crew to be under the car deck, which is where the crew cabins were. She left Rendsburg
on 22 April 1985, but two days later she was stopped by an industrial dispute with the stewards. She first went to Brunsbuttel
, but had to continue through the Kiel Canal
, and into Kiel
where she docked. The Tasmanian Government sent police to West Germany
to end the dispute and get the ship underway, but on arrival the police were powerless in West Germany
. So the Tasmanian Government had to change laws to empower them to resolve the problem, and she resumed her trip and left Kiel
on 18 May 1985. She then sailed to Australia
, going straight to Devonport
and not via Queensland
and New South Wales
as had been planned. She started on the Devonport
-Melbourne
route on 1 June 1985 from Melbourne
. Her former Captain Rudolf Schonfeldt, sailed with the ship to Australia from Germany to advise the crew, unfamiliar with the new ship.
In 1993 she was laid up following the arrival of the much larger Spirit of Tasmania. In 1994 she was sold to Ventouris Ferries
and re-named the Pollux. In 1995 she was again sold, this time to the Maritime Company of Lesvos
and operated by Nel Lines, re-named Theofilos for the Pireaus-Chios
-Mytilini route with calls sometimes in Thessaloniki
and Limnos.
On 28 June 2008 Theofilos ran aground on a reef of rocks of the island of Oinousses
about 10nm from the island of Chios
. She suffered serious damage to her port side hull, a 15-20 metres slash causing flooding of a water tight compartment, she subsequently developed a 2.5 degree list. The ship was repaired, with an estimated cost to Nel Lines underwriter, The West of England Shipowners of €5 million euros. Once the repairs were completed, she returned to normal service on 16 May 2009.
and re-named Fedra. In 2004 she was transferred over to Hellas Ferries, then sold to Sea Hawk Marine, operated by COMANAV. Later that year she was re-named Guido for a short time. She was then bought by Messrs, Funtots, S.A.(El Salam Maritime) and re-named Ouzoud, she then operated under COMANAV for 6 years on the 48 hour route from Genua (Italy
) - Tanger (Morocco
) in January 2010 it was reported that Ouzoud has been sold to India for demolition.
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
built at shipyard Nobiskrug
Nobiskrug
Nobiskrug Ltd. is a shipbuilding company located on the Eider River in Rendsburg, Germany, specializing in building luxury yachts. It is now a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi MAR. The shipyard currently employs some 400 people....
in Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1975.
History
The M/S Abel Tasman was the first ferryFerry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
of the TT-line (Tasmania)
TT-Line (Australia)
TT-Line Company Pty. Ltd. is a company operating ferries from Tasmania to the mainland of Australia since 1985. The company was separated from the department of Transport Tasmania in 1993, becoming a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Tasmania.- 1985-1992 :TT-Line was...
- a passenger/vehicle ferry that was built at Nobiskrug in Rendsburg for the TT-line (Germany)
TT-Line
TT-Line is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing a ferry service between Travemünde in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. From 1992 on, Rostock is also offered as starting harbor to Trelleborg...
as the Nils Holgersson (3) for the Travemünde
Travemünde
Travemünde is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the Danes subsequently strengthened it. It became a town in 1317 and in...
- Trelleborg
Trelleborg
Trelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...
route in 1975 along with her sister Peter Pan (2). In 1985 the Australian National Line
Australian National Lines
The Australian National Line was an Australian Government owned overseas and coastal shipping line that operated in Australia between 1956 and 1998, when the container shipping operations and naming rights were bought by French shipping line CMA CGM....
(ANL) announced they would be pulling out of the Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
run, so the Federal Government gave the Tasmanian Government the capital required to buy a suitable ferry, in compensation for placing the environmentally-sensitive Gordon River
Gordon River
The Gordon River is one of the major rivers of Tasmania, Australia. It rises in the centre of the island at Lake Richmond and flows westward for about 193km where it empties into Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania. Major tributaries include the Serpentine River and the Franklin...
off-limits to Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as The HEC, is the government owned enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia...
power generation schemes. This ship turned out to be the Nils Holgersson (3) from the TT-line (Germany)
TT-Line
TT-Line is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing a ferry service between Travemünde in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. From 1992 on, Rostock is also offered as starting harbor to Trelleborg...
, which also came with an option to buy her sister ship Peter Pan (2) one year later (which never came to pass).
The Abel Tasman first went back to her builder's yard for a refit, and for a large box-like structure to be added to the stern of the ship for the crew, because the Australian maritime union rules didn’t allow the crew to be under the car deck, which is where the crew cabins were. She left Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
on 22 April 1985, but two days later she was stopped by an industrial dispute with the stewards. She first went to Brunsbuttel
Brunsbüttel
Brunsbüttel is a town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany that lies on the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. It is the location of the western entrance to the Kiel Canal, the eastern entrance being located at Kiel-Holtenau...
, but had to continue through the Kiel Canal
Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal , known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal until 1948, is a long canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.The canal links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula....
, and into Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
where she docked. The Tasmanian Government sent police to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to end the dispute and get the ship underway, but on arrival the police were powerless in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. So the Tasmanian Government had to change laws to empower them to resolve the problem, and she resumed her trip and left Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
on 18 May 1985. She then sailed to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, going straight to Devonport
Devonport, Tasmania
-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...
and not via Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
as had been planned. She started on the Devonport
Devonport, Tasmania
-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...
-Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
route on 1 June 1985 from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Her former Captain Rudolf Schonfeldt, sailed with the ship to Australia from Germany to advise the crew, unfamiliar with the new ship.
In 1993 she was laid up following the arrival of the much larger Spirit of Tasmania. In 1994 she was sold to Ventouris Ferries
Ventouris Ferries
Ventouris Ferries is a Greek company that operates ferry services from Italy to Greece and Albania.-Routes:Ventouris Ferries operates two routes across the Adriatic Sea.*Bari - Durres*Bari - Corfu - Igoumenitsa-Fleet:...
and re-named the Pollux. In 1995 she was again sold, this time to the Maritime Company of Lesvos
Maritime Company of Lesvos
NEL LINES was established in 1972, as a company of popular base with shareholders the residents of Lesvos island and primary aim the purchase of a liner vessel for the Mitilini-Chios-Piraeus route...
and operated by Nel Lines, re-named Theofilos for the Pireaus-Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
-Mytilini route with calls sometimes in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and Limnos.
On 28 June 2008 Theofilos ran aground on a reef of rocks of the island of Oinousses
Oinousses
Oinousses , alternative forms: Aignoussa or Egnoussa is a barren cluster of 1 larger and 8 smaller islands some 2 km off the north-east coast of the Greek island of Chios and 8 km west of Turkey. Administratively the islands form a municipality within the Chios peripheral unit, which is...
about 10nm from the island of Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
. She suffered serious damage to her port side hull, a 15-20 metres slash causing flooding of a water tight compartment, she subsequently developed a 2.5 degree list. The ship was repaired, with an estimated cost to Nel Lines underwriter, The West of England Shipowners of €5 million euros. Once the repairs were completed, she returned to normal service on 16 May 2009.
Sister ship
In 1986 the M/S Peter Pan (2) was renamed Robin Hood to free the name for the larger Peter Pan (3) (later Spirit of Tasmania). In 1987 she was sold to Minoan LinesMinoan Lines
Minoan Lines is one of the dominant passenger ferry companies in Greece, sailing between Piraeus and Crete and in the Adriatic Sea, between Patras and various Italian ports. The company was founded in May 1972...
and re-named Fedra. In 2004 she was transferred over to Hellas Ferries, then sold to Sea Hawk Marine, operated by COMANAV. Later that year she was re-named Guido for a short time. She was then bought by Messrs, Funtots, S.A.(El Salam Maritime) and re-named Ouzoud, she then operated under COMANAV for 6 years on the 48 hour route from Genua (Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) - Tanger (Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
) in January 2010 it was reported that Ouzoud has been sold to India for demolition.
Further information
Sister ship: : Peter Pan 1974-1985, re named Robin Hood 1986-1987, re nemed Fedra 1985-2004, re named Guido 2004, re named Ouzoud 2004-2010.External links
- Photos of Tasmanian ferries
- Ships of Bass Strait
- Apostolos Kak's photos of Theofilos
- COMANAV photos of Ouzoud