Bluebridge is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 ferry operation between Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 in the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 and Picton

Picton, New Zealand

Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It is close to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. The population was 2928 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001...

 in the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

.

History

Bluebridge was formed in 2003 by Strait Shipping

Strait Shipping

The New Zealand shipping firm Strait Shipping Limited operates between the North Island and the South Island ....

 to compete with the Interislander

Interislander

The Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail.The Interislander travels between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island, forming a road and rail link between New Zealand's two main...

. Strait Shipping

Strait Shipping

The New Zealand shipping firm Strait Shipping Limited operates between the North Island and the South Island ....

 had been providing freight-only services across Cook Strait

Cook Strait

Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....

 since 1992.

Fleet

Passenger services are operated by two ships, the Santa Regina and the Monte Stello. The Monte Stello will be replaced by the Dutch built Straitsman in December 2010.

Monte Stello
The Monte Stello was built in 1979 for French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 ferry operator SNCM

SNCM

SNCM is a French ferry company operating in the Mediterranean.Its ferries sail from Marseille, Toulon, Nice on mainland France, Calvi, Bastia, Ajaccio, Ile Rousse, Propriano, and Porto Vecchio on Corsica, Porto Torres on Sardinia, Algiers, Oran, Skikda and Bejaia in Algeria as well as Tunis in...

. In 1996 the Monte Stello was purchased by the Lithuanien Shipping Company

DFDS Lisco

DFDS Lisco was a Lithuanian ferry company that operated passenger and freight services across the Baltic Sea from Lithuania to Sweden and Germany. Following DFDS's acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010...

 and renamed Palanga. Following charters to DFDS Tor Line

DFDS Tor Line

DFDS Tor Line was a freight shipping company owned by the Denmark-based DFDS. DFDS Tor Line was a freight-carrying division of DFDS along with DFDS Lisco, DFDS Lys Line and DFDS Container Line...

 and Trasmediterránea

Acciona Trasmediterránea

Acciona Trasmediterránea is part of the Acciona group. It operates passengers and cargo ferries between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and northern Africa.-History:...

 the Palanga was purchased by Strait Shipping in 2006 and returned to her original name. She is due to be withdrawn from service upon the arrival of the Straitsman in December 2010.

Santa Regina
The Santa Regina was built in 1985 for French ferry operator Compagnie Méridionale de Navigation. She was purchased by Strait Shipping in 2002.

Straitsman
The Straitsman was built in 2005 as the Dueodde for Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 ferry operator BornholmerFærgen. She is due to be enter service with Bluebridge in December 2010. The Straitsman is a similar but smaller version of the Interislander

Interislander

The Interislander is a road and rail ferry service across New Zealand's Cook Strait, owned and operated by state-owned rail operator KiwiRail.The Interislander travels between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island, forming a road and rail link between New Zealand's two main...

 ferry Kaitaki. Her twin sister M/S Hammerodde still operates for BornholmerFærgen