MS Côte des Flandres

Seafrance Berlioz laid up in Calais Seafrance Berlioz laid up in Calais
History
Name	Berlioz (2012-Present) Seafrance Berlioz (2005-2012)
Owner	Euro-Transmanche 3 BE (2012-Present) Seafrance (2005-2012)
Operator	MyFerryLink (2012-Present) Seafrance (2005-2012)
Port of registry	Calais, France
Route	Dover - Calais
Builder	Chantiers Atlantique, Saint Nazaire, France
Yard number	032
Launched	14 October 2004
In service	30 March 2005
Identification	IMO number: 9305843
Status	In Service
General characteristics
Tonnage	33,796 GT
Length	185.82 m (610 ft)
Beam	27.7 m (91 ft)
Installed power	2 x Wärtsilä 8L46B, 2 x Wärtsilä 12V46B diesels, 9,000kW
Speed	25 kn (46.30 km/h)
Capacity	1900 passengers, 2000 lane metres (120 lorries or 700 cars)

MS Berlioz is a Ro-Ro Passenger Ferry owned by Euro-Transmanche 3 BE and operated by MyFerryLink between Dover and Calais, the ship was the second to be built for SeaFrance in 2005, she entered service with SeaFrance in March 2005 and finished with SeaFrance in January 2012 when the company was liquidated. She was sold to Euro-Transmanche 3 BE (Eurotunnel) in July 2012 and was renamed Berlioz and entered service in August 2012 between Dover and Calais, the ship is currently undertaking a refit in Dunkerque.

Service

The SeaFrance Berlioz carried out up to ten English Channel crossings per day with SeaFrance, in a time of 70 minutes each. In total, there are 11 decks. When in SeaFrance service the passenger areas accounted for the upper two decks, with the lower decks used for the vehicles. The passenger area included a retail space and children's play area. The retail area covered around 500m² and included a boutique and a shopping area offering clothes, cosmetics, confectionary, beer, wines and spirits. There was also a newspaper kiosk, bureau de change and information desk. On board, there were six bars and restaurants. The Latitudes café bar and the Le Parisien café were located in the ship's bow - the former on the upper deck and the latter on the lower deck. The Latitudes could seat 260 passengers with waiter service for 60 and the Le Parisien café could accommodate 350 diners. The other areas were the Relais self-service restaurant, the la Brasserie Restaurant, the Le Pub bar, which had seating for 400 people, and a commercial driver's restaurant catering for 160 people. The Relais was situated at the stern and overlooks the children's play area. It had seating for 350 customers.

After 16 November 2011, she was laid up in Calais Port, due to the commercial court ordering that Seafrance be liquidated. During her time laid up in Calais, she was involved in a collision with another vessel within the port vicinity. During a gale, with winds of around 50 Knots, she parted her moorings and drifted across the water towards the Cable Vessel Île de Batz owned by the Louis Dreyfus Group. Damage was sustained to her Starboard Bridge Wing which resulted in shattered windows and crushed roofing. Minimal damage was caused to the Île de Batz, which later departed for a nearby port for quick repairs. A Tugboat owned by the Port of Calais was soon on the scene to assist the SeaFrance Berlioz. She resumed service with MyFerryLink on 20 August 2012, dropping SeaFrance from her name.

On the 27 October 2012 the Pride Of Burgundy collided with Berlioz resulting in damage to her lifeboats, resulting in the ship being pulled out of service. The Pride of Burgundy sustained damage to her right bridge wing which was fixed in a couple of hours. All passengers due to travel on the Berlioz were transferred to MS Rodin.

Manoeuvrability

Manoeuvrability is important for a vessel having to make 20 port movements a day. To assist in manoeuvring at port, the vessel has four transverse thrusters, three in the bow and one in the stern. The Wärtsilä thrusters are rated at 1,800 kW each. The propellers and thrusters can be controlled individually, with the aid of a joystick, or simultaneously. It can berth in wind speeds of 50 knots without tug assistance.

Sister Ship

MS Rodin (ex. Seafrance Rodin)