#Condor102 – The latest addition to the Condor Ferries fleet, Condor 102 as previously reported arrived into the UK waters yesterday following her 10,500 nautical mile delivery voyage.

The Condor 102 sailed into Poole, Dorset, which is to be her UK base when she enters Channel Islands service in late March 2015. The ship will be the first of her kind in Northern Europe.

Watched by keen on-lookers and escorted by a tug, Condor 102 sailed past the Sandbanks peninsula and alongside Brownsea Island, before berthing at Poole Port.

The arrival concludes her long journey from Cebu in the Philippines, from where she departed on 4th December. During her delivery voyager she has sailed across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal and via the Mediterranean before travelling up the Bay of Biscay and into the English Channel.

The new ship represents £50m of investment in the Channel Islands, securing the future of high speed ferry travel to the Islands.

Condor 102 will now go through a period of customisation in Poole with a full internal fit out completed by interior refurbishment specialists Trimline. She will also complete a series of sea trials in the UK and the Channel Islands before she officially comes into service in late March, sailing from Poole to Guernsey and Jersey.

Captain Fran Collins, Executive Director – Operations at Condor Ferries commented: "We're delighted our new ship – Condor 102 – has completed her long journey here to the UK and is now safely docked at Poole Port."

She continued: "It was exciting to see her sail into the port early this morning - the crew were in great spirits. They have done a fantastic job of bringing her home on schedule - everyone at Condor is very thankful for all their hard work and commitment over the last 24 days, and we hope they get home to their families soon to enjoy the rest of the festive period and to see in the New Year."

Jim Stewart, Chief Executive Poole Harbour Commissioners welcomed the sleek new state-of-the-art 102m trimaran saying: "We are delighted to welcome this superb new ship to Poole port which will be her operational base. Poole is a highly successful south coast port set in the beautiful location of Poole Harbour and we look forward to continuing our long and successful working partnership with Condor Ferries.

"From the end of March, all journeys to the Channel Islands will be on the new Condor 102 from Poole, offering improved reliability, increased capacity, and a greater level of comfort with smoother journeys. Condor 102 will also feature three seat classes, with two upgrade areas available for passengers.

 

#Condor102 – Condor Ferries have confirmed since our report as to the identity of which fast-craft the Channel Islands operator are to replace when fast-ferry Condor 102 enters service in early 2015, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Condor 102 as the name suggests is a 102 metre long craft built by Austal in Fremantle, which was acquired by Condor Ferries for £50m as previously reported. She is currently making her delivery voyage of 10,500 nautical miles from the Philippines to the UK.

When the western Australian built 880 passenger / 250 vehicle trimaran is renamed, she is scheduled to launch sailings on the Poole-Channel Islands services from March 2015 replacing the Tasmanian InCat built 86m fast-ferries Condor Vitesse and Condor Express.

This will leave third sister, Condor Rapide which was launched from Incat's Hobart yard in 1997 to remain in service for Condor Ferries which this year celebrates 50 years of operations.

Since 1964, the operator, have built up a network of routes from UK ports of Poole, Portsmouth and Weymouth to Guernsey and Jersey. In addition the Channel Islands are linked to France using the Normandy port of St. Malo.

Asides operating fast-ferries, Condor's fleet includes ro-pax Commodore Clipper, which serves the main conventional ferry services to and from the UK in addition to freight-only ferry, Commodore Goodwill which also links to France.

 

#Condor102 - Channel Islands operator Condor Ferries latest acquisition, Condor 102, departed last week from Austal's shipyard in Balamban, Cebu in the Philippines, to begin her long (approx. 10,500 nautical miles) delivery voyage to Southampton.

Upon her arrival in the UK, final preparations will be made before the 102-metre fast-ferry passenger and vehicle trimaran is scheduled to enter a Poole-Channel Islands service at the end of March 2015. She will be renamed following a public competition for islanders.

Afloat.ie adds that Condor 102 is understood to replace one of a trio of InCat built 86m fast-ferries which currently operate services in addition to ro-pax Commodore Clipper. This conventional ferry is a slightly larger version of Isle of Man Steam Packet Co.'s Ben-My-Chree.

Condor 102 which was built in Austal's yard in Fremantle, Western Australia was relocated to their facility in the Philippines from where for the past four months she underwent fitting-out to Condor's specifications so to meet passenger standards when entering service.

The craft is expected to take around four weeks to make the journey to the UK. During the voyage, which is being undertaken by Condor crews, the ferry will sail across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal and via the Mediterranean before travelling up the Bay of Biscay and into the English Channel.

"I'm delighted that we are now entering the final stages of the new ferry's preparations before she is able to come into service on the UK to Channel Islands route," said Capt Fran Collins, Executive Director – Operations, at Condor Ferries.

Once she arrives in Southampton, interior refurbishment specialists, Trimline, will complete the internal fit out and the ferry will undertake further trials before she begins sailing in the Spring.