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With less than a week in service on the Larne-Troon port route, the ro-ro freight ferry Norcape has replaced the European Mariner which is reportedly sold to Turkish ship-breakers, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The Norcape (1979/14,087grt) entered service on 17 July and she brings an increased freight boost capacity of 125 trailer units compared to European Mariner's (1977/5,897grt) 53 trailer units. She departed Larne for the final time five days earlier, on her delivery voyage to Izmir in the eastern Mediterranean.

Prior to her arrival on the North Channel, Norcape had been laid-up in Liverpool since February 2010 after the former B+I Line vessel (MV Tipperary) was replaced by European Endeavour on the central corridor route to Dublin. As of this week the ro-pax freight vessel which has been running in a freight-only mode will now carry motorists likewise to her route fleetmates Norbank and Norbay.

With the departure of European Mariner from the Irish Sea, she follows a trio of former Stena Line freight-ferry sisters which were made redundant since the closure of the Belfast-Heysham route late last year. It is believed the sisters Stena Seafarer, Stena Leader and Stena Pioneer have been sold to Russian interests to serve in the Black Sea in connection to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The sisters were renamed, Stena Pioneer became Ant 1, Stena Seafarer is the Ant 2 and Stena Leader is the Anna Marine. They departed Belfast Lough in mid-June to Sevastopol in the Ukraine under the Moldovan flag and with a port of registry in Giurgiulesti.

Published in Ferry

Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023 Cruisers One

A 24-boat fleet will contest Cruisers IRC One at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023: 

  • IRL 2160 Blast on Chimaera J109 Barry Cunningham
  • GBR 8529C Mocking-J J109 Ben Shelley
  • IRL 29213 Something Else J109 Brian John Hall
  • GBR 9470 Banshee Corby 33 Charlie Frize
  • IRL 28898 Powder Monkey J109 Chris Moore
  • GBR 8933R Bon Exemple Colin Byrne
  • GBR 1508R Salamander XXIII J109 Craig Corson
  • IRL 9898 Indecision J109 Declan Hayes
  • IRL 1095 Dear Prudence J109 Dp Partners
  • IRL 1003 FINAL CALL II RC35, ARCHAMBAULT A35 Gareth Flannigan
  • IRL 19109 Outrajeous J109 John And Suzie Murphy
  • IRL 1206 Joker 2 J109 John Maybury
  • IRL 3307 JACOB VII Corby 33 John Stamp
  • GBR 2068R Blue Jay J109 John Stanley-Whyte
  • IRL 13500 D-TOX X-35 Kyran McStay
  • IRL 1699 Snapshot Michael and Richard Evans
  • IRL 1141 Storm J109 Pat Kelly
  • GBR 9498R Going to Red J109 Peter Holden
  • GBR 7377 Imposter Corby 33 Richard Fildes
  • GBP 1242R White Mischief J109 Richard Timothy Goodbody
  • IRL 53222 Riders on the Storm J109 Robert Kerr
  • GBR 8543R Jings J109 Robin Young
  • GBR 704R Game Changer Beneteau 40.7 Shaun Douglas
  • IRL 1543 Indian J109 Simon Knowles
  • GBR 732R HIJACKER CUSTOM KER 32 Stuart Cranston
  • IRL 1383 Ruth J109 Tom Shanahan