Pride of Bilbao - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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...

"Princess Anastasia" is a cruiseferry

Cruiseferry

A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of...

owned by St. Peter Line. Until September 2010, she was known as "Pride of Bilbao", operated by P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

on their Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

–Bilbao

Bilbao

Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...

route. The vessel was built in 1986 as the Olympia by the Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include large combustion engines...

shipyard in Turku

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

, Finland for Rederi AB Slite

Rederi AB Slite

Rederi AB Slite was a Swedish shipping company, founded in 1947. The company was one of the three founding companies of Viking Line. Rederi AB Slite went bankrupt in 1993.-Early History:...

, Sweden for use in Viking Line

Viking Line

Viking Line is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange...

traffic. She was sold by Irish Continental Group to St. Peter Line in December 2010.

Brief history

Olympia was built by the Wärtsilä Shipyard in Turku

Turku

, Finland, for Rederi AB Slite

Rederi AB Slite

Rederi AB Slite was a Swedish shipping company, founded in 1947. The company was one of the three founding companies of Viking Line. Rederi AB Slite went bankrupt in 1993.-Early History:...

. The ship was launched on 26 April 1986 under the name Olympia, and operated between Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

and Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

for Viking Line

Viking Line

. Olympia was built as a sister ship to MS Mariella.

In 1993 Rederi AB Slite suffered financial problems and was forced to declare bankruptcy. Olympia was sold to Irish Continental Group

Irish Continental Group

Irish Continental Group is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll Off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe...

and chartered to P&O European Ferries who renamed her the Pride of Bilbao.

As of 1994, Pride of Bilbao has been registered in Portsmouth

Portsmouth

,since November 2008 she has been registered in Nassau, Bahamas.

In 2002 she received a major refurbishment, during which the vast majority of public spaces were updated and brought in line with P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

' new corporate branding of onboard facilities, as well as updating her livery. In addition to this, all Club Cabins and Suites received new carpets and textiles as well as having their en-suites remodelled and refurbished.

The vessel operated between Portsmouth

Portsmouth

and Bilbao

Bilbao

between 2007 and 2010, completing one return sailing every three days before this route was closed in September 2010.
She has also been previously used to provide a weekly service between Portsmouth

Portsmouth

and Cherbourg – the "Party Cruise".

2010 onwards

On 15 January 2010, P&O ferries announced that the Portsmouth–Bilbao route would be closing, with the last crossing from Bilbao 27 September 2010, when the lease for MS Pride of Bilbao expires. P&O announced that the route was loss-making and could not fund a new-build replacement for the Pride. Equally, no other existing ships are available for purchase/charter.

P&O states that for the past three years they have tried to do 'all they can' to make the route profitable. As of June 2010 there is another party said to be interested in taking the route on; they would look at an array of cost-cutting measures to continue the service.

Following the closing of the P&O route "Pride of Bilbao" was renamed "Bilbao" in October 2010. The ship left Portsmouth

Portsmouth

for the last time on 30 September 2010, after all P&O merchandise and other equipment had been removed, and sailed to Falmouth for refurbishment. Whilst at Falmouth in December 2010 Irish Continental Group

Irish Continental Group

sold the vessel to St. Peter Line which acquired the ship for a new service between Saint Petersburg and Stockholm to commence in May 2011 after a refit of the vessel is complete. It is thought that this ferry will bring an extra 400,000 tourists to Saint Petersburg in 2011.

She left Falmouth just after Christmas 2010 and made her way to Skagen in Norway arriving 31 December 2010 where she anchored off for a couple of days. On 2 January 2011 she made here way through the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

to Klaipėda

Klaipeda

Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

Current Life

The "Princess Anastasia" made her maiden voyage for the St. Peter Line in April 2011. She set sail from Saint Petersburg on 31 March and docked in Stockholm the next day on 1 April, completing her first passenger voyage since September 2010.

The ferry now operates on a circular service from Stockholm to St Petersburg stopping in Tallinn (Estonia) on the outward journey and Helsinki (Finland) on the return journey.

Facilities

The following facilities are the ones that are currently available on the St Petersburg to Stockholm route

Restaurants and Bars:

Columbus Bar - Deck 7
XXXX Bar - Deck 8
A La Carte Restaurant - Deck 7
Irish Pub - Deck 7
Buffet Restaurant - Deck 7
Pool Bar - Deck 2

Leisure:

Jacuzzi - Deck 2
Children's Pool - Deck 2
Adult's Pool - Deck 2
Sauna and Gym - Deck 2

Facilities:

24-hour Guest Services – Deck 6
Bureau de Change – Deck 6
Kidz Club - Deck 7

Cabins: (all en-suite)

Suites (sleeps 2) - Deck 6
Deluxe Cabins (sleeps 2) - Deck 5
Commodore Cabins (sleeps 2) - Decks 5 & 6
HC Class Outside Cabins (sleeps 3) - Deck 4
A Class Cabins Outside (sleeps 4) - Decks 4, 5 & 6
B Class Cabins Inside (sleeps 4) - Decks 4, 5 & 6
E Class Cabins Inside (sleeps 4) - Deck 2

Possible connection to deaths of yachtsmen

Detectives and officers from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch

Marine Accident Investigation Branch

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch established in 1989 following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster is a branch of the United Kingdom Department for Transport which can investigate any accident occurring in UK waters, regardless of the nationality of the vessel involved, and accidents...

(MAIB) and Hampshire Constabulary

Hampshire Constabulary

Hampshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.The force area includes the cities of Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth...

investigating the deaths of three yachtsmen examined Pride of Bilbao when it arrived in Portsmouth

Portsmouth

on 29 August 2006. The ship is one of at least 5 that the MAIB will inspect as part of their investigation. It is thought the ferry or one of the other ships in the area may have collided, or had a near-miss, with the 25 feet (8 m) yacht Ouzo off the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

on 20 August, leading to the deaths. All of the men died from drowning. The MAIB and Police inspected the hull for damage and studied paperwork. P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

had previously handed over information from a data recorder

Voyage Data Recorder

thumb|A fixed Data Capsule of VDR mounted on a [[container ship]].Voyage Data Recorder, or VDR, is a data recording system designed for all vessels required to comply with the IMO's International Convention SOLAS Requirements in order to collect data from various sensors on board the vessel...

on board the ferry which led to the follow-up inspection of the ship. The ship was inspected again on arrival in Portsmouth on 7 September 2006. After offloading passengers and vehicles from Bilbao the vessel was turned to allow the MAIB to inspect the port side and stern.

On 20 September 2006 a P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

employee from the Pride of Bilbao was arrested by police on suspicion of causing manslaughter through gross negligence. He was released on bail pending further inquiries, and then re-arrested and charged in February 2007.

The MAIB report into the sinking of the Ouzo was released on 12 April 2007. It concluded that the sinking of the yacht was due to the Pride of Bilbao colliding with her, or passing so close that she had been swamped or capsized by the vessel's wash.

On 28 October 2007 the trial of Michael Hubble, second mate

Second Mate

A second mate or second officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The second mate is the third in command and a watchkeeping officer, customarily the ship's navigator. Other duties vary, but the second mate is often the medical officer and in charge of maintaining...

of the Pride of Bilbao started at Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire. The prosecution alleged that Hubble, in sole charge of the ferry at the time of the alleged incident, failed to act properly in charge of a vessel. For example, he failed to inform the captain of the incident, failed to stop the ferry and failed to launch a search vessel – all actions it is claimed could have saved the lives of the crew of the Ouzo. All crewmembers had life-vests, and at least one of the crew survived for 12 hours after the incident. The defence contended that lights were visible astern of the ferry, encounters with yachts were common, and the Ouzo was not the vessel involved in the near miss. Hubble was cleared of manslaughter on 12 December 2007, with the jury accepting the defence case that the Ouzo was not the vessel involved. The following day he was also cleared of all charges of misconduct under the Merchant Shipping Act.

Portsmouth to Bilbao Route

Pride Of Bilbao (as the ship was known) is most famously remembered as being operated by P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

on their Portsmouth to Bilbao route. When the company took over the ship in 1994 this was the route she was primarily used for. During her time as part of the P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

fleet Pride of Bilbao received many refurbishments with a major refit in 2002.
Since 2006 Pride of Bilbao was the only P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

ship to operate from Portsmouth

Portsmouth

with her completing one return sailing every three days. The company in an attempt to encourage more passengers marketed "Mini Cruises" with passengers walking on to the ship without a car. Then the ship arrived at Bilbao

Bilbao

mini cruise passengers would have a trip to different locations around Bilbao while the ship was prepared for its return trip back to Portsmouth

Portsmouth

.
However, all attempts to make the route profitable for the company were exhausted. Many because P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

competitor Brittany Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.-1970s and 1980s:Following the provision of the deep-water port at Roscoff, the company commenced in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...

running ferries to the nearby port of Santander

Santander, Cantabria

The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...

in 24hrs where as Pride of Bilbao took 36hrs to reach Bilbao

Bilbao

P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...

charter of the Pride of Bilbao ended on 30 September 2010 and prior to this in January of the same year the company issued a statement that they would not be continuing the charter of the vessel nor find an alternative ship to replace Pride of Bilbao as they claim to having been making losses on the route for sometime. The Pride of Bilbao completed her last sailing on 28 September 2010.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.