A ferry built in Ireland, which served the former B&I Line and with a career stretching almost half a century, has finally succumbed to the scrapyard, having today been beached at Aliaga, Turkey, writes Jehan Ashmore.
This afternoon, the one-time Celtic and Irish Sea ferry serving M.V. Connacht, under the name of Akdeniz and the flag of the African state Cameroon, beached at Aliaga, one of the world's largest shipbreaking yards. Following its departure from Tascucu, Turkey, on 24 June, Afloat later tracked off the Gulf of Antalya, reaching two days later the anchorage of Candarli Korfesi, northeast of Aliaga.
Its final duties, not as a 1,500 passenger/325 car ferry, were, after being converted at the Tersan Shipyard, Tusla, Istanbul, as an aid ship for Gaza, as, according to some reports, runs took place to Beirut, Lebanon. However, further research noted Egypt, in October last year, bringing supplies to el-Arish Port, the closest access point to the Gaza Strip.
The M.V. Connacht was the first of twin car ferries custom-built for the state operator, which, in 1978, was launched at the Verolme Cork Dockyard (V.C.D.) in Rushbrooke. The next year, the newbuild ferry's maiden route was Cork-Swansea, and for almost a decade, it ultimately also served Cork/Rosslare-Pembroke Dock and Dublin-Liverpool/Holyhead.
At 122.05 metres length overall (LOA) and with just a width of 18.5 metres, I recalled this when onboard bound for Holyhead, and its forward deck also having a distinct tumblehome. However, the reasoning for the narrow beam was to facilitate transiting the Waterloo Lock at Liverpool Docks, having experienced it with the younger twin, M.V. Leinster, also V.C.D., built in 1981.
Afloat reported its scrapping in recent years, having served on the Canadian east coast for C.T.M.A. Traversier as their M.V. Madelaine. Also, the C.T.M.A. Vancancier (formerly Irish Ferries' Saint Patrick II), operating in the French-speaking region of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, was subsequently scrapped at Aliaga too.
However, the long-ailing B&I Line got into increasing financial difficulties, which in 1988 led to the sale of the M.V. Connacht to Brittany Ferries, becoming Duchesse Anne, with the 6,812-ton ferry aptly returning to Irish waters in 1993, running Cork-St. Malo/Roscoff routes and across the English Channel.
Four years later, Duchesse Anne was disposed of to Croatian owners, Jadrolinga, as their Dubrovnik, renamed after the coastal tourist city from where the ferry linked routes across the Adriatic to Bari and Split-Ancona, Italy.
This Mediterranean career would continue, as by 2023 the ferry was sold to Greek owners, A-Ships, and renamed Prince to serve between Vlore, Albania, and Brindisi; however, the service was short-lived, as in the same season it was detained for deficiencies.
The following year, ownership transferred again to Turkish interests based in the nation’s capital port and yet another renaming as the Arkeniz. Then the veteran vessel was put to work as an aid ship, as alluded to, transporting supplies to the Middle East.
Its demise, interestingly, includes other Irish links, given the Naval Service used to dispatch OPV vessels on annual resupply missions from Cork to Lebanon for troops of the Irish Army Defence Forces' peacekeeping personnel based in UN stations.
