MS Normandy
Encyclopedia
MS
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Normandy is a ferry
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...
owned by the Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-based oil service company Equinox Offshore Accommodation, under charter the 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...
-based ferry operator Ferrimaroc. She was built in 1981 by Götaverken
Götaverken
Götaverken was a shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. It was founded in 1841, and went bankrupt in 1989.The company was founded in 1841 by a Scottish businessman called Alexander Keiller under the name Keillers Werkstad i Göteborg, and was aimed at industrial production...
, Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and first entered service in 1982 as MS Prinsessan Birgitta for Stena Sessan Line. She has also served under the names MS St Nicholas and MS Stena Normandy.
Concept and construction
The ship known today as MS Normandy was originally ordered from GötaverkenGötaverken
Götaverken was a shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. It was founded in 1841, and went bankrupt in 1989.The company was founded in 1841 by a Scottish businessman called Alexander Keiller under the name Keillers Werkstad i Göteborg, and was aimed at industrial production...
in the late 1970s by Sessan Linjen, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, with a planned delivery date in late 1981. Before the ship was completed, Sessan Linjen's main rival Stena Line
Stena Line
Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...
purchased the majority of shares is Sessan, leading to the formation of Stena Sessan Line. After Stena acquired Sessan they cancelled the order for the new ship, and the shipyard were forced to complete her on their own account. Temporarily named MS GV 909 and registered in Gotheburg, the ship was completed in December 1981 and subsequently laid up in Gothenburg.
1982-1983: Stena Line
In May 1982, Stena Sessan changed their mind and decided to purchase the GV 909 after all. The company wanted to name the ship Drottning Silvia in honour of Queen Silvia of SwedenQueen Silvia of Sweden
|align=right|Queen Silvia of Sweden is the Queen consort of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Styled Her Majesty The Queen, Silvia is the mother of the heir apparent to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria.-Childhood:Queen Silvia was born in Heidelberg, Germany, on 23 December 1943...
, but the Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
of Sweden declined. Eventually the ship was named M/S Prinsessan Birgitta in honour Princess Birgitta
Princess Birgitta of Sweden
Princess Birgitta of Sweden and Hohenzollern is a sister of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She was born at Haga Palace in Stockholm County.-Family:...
, sister of King Carl XVI Gustav. Princess Brigitta herself christened the ship on 7 June 1982 (the ship had already entered traffic on 3 June). Prinsessan Birgitta
Sealink
Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland....
already in February 1983.
1983-1996: Sealink
Prior to entering service with Sealink, Prinsessan Birgitta was rebuilt at Götaverken with additional cabin facilities, renamed MS St Nicholas and moved under United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
flag with London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as her homeport. In June 1983, she was set on Sealink's Hoek van Holland
Hoek van Holland
The Hook of Holland , also known in English as the Hook, is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is situated on the North Sea coast, on the north bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg ship canal. The town is administered by the municipality of Rotterdam as a district of that city...
—Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
route. During the same month she was sold by Stena to Hill Samuel Trading Ltd, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, who continued chartering her to Sealink. In 1986 the ship was sold again, this time to Ibos Finance Ltd, Squarhorn Ltd, Ellstre Platforms Ltd and A. Moir & Co Ltd, a group of Stena subsidiaries. During the following two years she was sold three more times from one Stena subsidiary to another, first to McAlpine Aviation, Ellstre Platforms Ltd and others in 1987, then to M.C.C. Leasing (no 6) Ltd and N.W.S.6. Ltd again in 1987 and finally to Paxro Ltd in 1988. None of these sales had any effect in her traffic, but 1988 her homeport was changed to Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
.
In 1989, St Nicholas was sold again, this time to the Sweden-based Rederi AB Gotland, who continued to charter the ship to Sealink. In 1990 Stena Line took over the Sealink services and their former ship. In January 1991 St Nicholas was rebuilt at Lloyd Werft
Lloyd Werft
Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH is a dockyard in Bremerhaven, established in 1857 by Norddeutscher Lloyd. The yard employs 500 workers in an area of 260. 000 m². Ships with a draught down to 11,5 m can be accommodated.-External links:* website...
, Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
, 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...
and renamed MS Stena Normandy. After briefly returning to the Hoek van Holland—Harwich route, she was transferred to the Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
—Cherbourg service in June 1991. She stayed on the service until November 1996 (her last passenger sailing for Stena being from Cherbourg to Southampton on 1 December), when her charter agreement to Stena expired and she was laid up in Dunkerque.
1997: Tallink
After being laid up for two months, Stena Normandy was chartered to TallinkTallink
Tallink is an Estonian shipping company currently operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden, Latvia to Sweden and Finland to Germany. They also own Silja Line and a part of SeaRail...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
in January 1997 and renamed MS Normandy. She began service with Tallink on 23 April 1997, after being re-registered in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia. Her charter to Tallink ended on 30 December 1997, after which she reverted to Bahamian flag.
1998-2007: Irish Ferries
In January 1998 the Normandy was chartered to Irish Ferries and re-registered to IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. On 29 February 1998 she began service on their Rosslare
Rosslare Europort
Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeastern-most point of Ireland's coastline, handling passenger and freight ferries to and from Wales and France....
—Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was greatly expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard...
route, in April moving to Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
—Roscoff
Roscoff
Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour....
and Rosslare—Cherbourg services. In 1999 Rederi AB Gotland sold her to Irish Ferries and during the same year she was re-registered to Hamilton, Bermuda
Hamilton, Bermuda
Hamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination.-Geography:...
. Between January and March 2000 Normandy interiors were rebuilt at a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
shipyard. During the same docking side sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
s were added on her hull for improved stability. Following the refit she was placed on Irish Ferries services from Ireland to France
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...
. In February 2004 the ship was out-of-traffic for four days due to a conflict between Irish Ferries and their employees onboard. The same was repeated between 27 November and 14 December 2005. Following the delivery of the new MS Oscar Wilde, Normandy was taken out-of-service on 2007-11-04.
2008 onwards: Ferrimaroc
On November 5, 2007, the Normandy sailed from Rosslare to FredericiaFredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...
, Denmark
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...
, where she was laid up until sold to the Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-based oil service company Equinox Offshore Accommodation on 28 January 2008. The new owners planned to rebuild her into an accommodation and repair vessel at SembCorp Marine
SembCorp Marine
Sembcorp Marine Limited is part of SembCorp Industries, an Asian company based in Singapore. It is listed on the Singapore stock exchange or SGX and is part of the Straits Times Index there...
shipyards, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. However, instead of being rebuilt she was chartered to the 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...
-based Ferrimaroc in March 2008, entering service on the Almeira—Nador
Nador
Nador is a city located in the northeastern Rif region of Morocco. The city is a Mediterranean port on the Bḥar Ameẓẓyan lagoon , and it is the major trading center in the region for fish, fruit, and livestock...
route in April 2008.
She finally left the Mediterranean in the Autumn of 2008 and arrived in Singapore on 19 October for her planned conversion, although it is understood that this has not yet taken place.