Brittany Ferries

Current Brittany Ferries logo

Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.

History

1970s and 1980s

The company was founded in January 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, and began sailings between Roscoff in Brittany and Plymouth in the South West of England. It is often rumoured that the company originated out of onion farmers or Onion Johnnies who would sail across to Devon in order to sell their produce. New routes were introduced throughout the 1970s, and the company continued to grow. The St Malo, Santander and Cork routes were operated by the Armorique and Prince of Brittany. In the early 1980s a second ship was chartered for the Saint-Malo route. The Goelo was an attractive-looking vessel, but left the fleet in preparation for the new ship to be introduced in 1982. The Quiberon replaced the Armorique on the Santander and Cork services, allowing her to operate alongside the Prince of Brittany on the Saint-Malo route. The Cornouailles maintained the original Roscoff route.

The Benodet operated Plymouth-Roscoff for just one year before being used as part of Brittany Ferries' new venture, Channel Island Ferries. The Tregastel replaced her and continued on the route until 1989. In 1985 Brittany Ferries further expanded by buying Truckline, which operated freight-only ships between Poole (UK) and Cherbourg (France).

In 1986, Brittany Ferries introduced the Duc De Normandie, which operated a new route between the increasingly popular port of Portsmouth and Caen. The former Roscoff ship Cornouailles was transferred to the Truckline Ferries route from Poole to Cherbourg, introducing passenger services on this route. This service was also very successful and new ships were introduced over the next few years. Meanwhile, a second (chartered) ship, the Gotland was installed on the Caen service, as well as a new Truckline vessel, the Normandie Shipper.

In 1989 the cruise ferry Bretagne was introduced. She displaced the Quiberon, which transferred to the Roscoff route. Tregastel replaced Cornouailles on the Poole-Cherbourg Truckline Ferries passenger route along with Corbiere (formerly the Benodet who had been transferred to Channel Island Ferries). A second-hand purchase was introduced on the St Malo route, the Duchesse Anne. which was to run alongside the Armorique. This allowed the Prince of Brittany to be transferred to the Caen route under its new name the Reine Mathilde.

1990s

At the end of 1991, the Reine Mathilde left the fleet ready for the introduction of the new cruise ferry the Normandie on the Caen route. The Corbiere and Tregastel also stepped down in preparation for the new Truckline Ferries ship, the Barfleur. During 1992, the Truckline freight vessel, Purbeck, and the St Malo ship Armorique both stepped down.

In 1993, the final new ship of the 1990s was introduced. The Val de Loire was purchased from TT-Line and partially rebuilt for service on the Santander and Cork routes. The vessel replaced the Bretagne which transferred to the St Malo route, allowing the Duchesse Anne to operate new services between Poole, St Malo, Cork, Roscoff and Plymouth. Following further financial difficulties in the mid 1990s, these new routes were ended and the Duchesse Anne left the fleet. The Normandie Shipper was also sold, but the ex-Truckline vessel Purbeck was later chartered back by the company for use on various routes, primarily Portsmouth-Caen. In 1999, the Barfleur was repainted in Brittany Ferries colours, ending the Truckline Ferries tradition on the route.

2000s

In 2001 a new fast ferry service operated between Poole and Cherbourg in partnership with Condor Ferries. The Normandie Vitesse operated the service in just over two hours. In 2002, a new ship, the Mont St Michel, was due to enter service between Portsmouth and Caen. The Duc De Normandie was transferred to the Roscoff route in July, whilst the Quiberon was sent to Caen to cover until the new ship arrived. The Mont St Michel was delayed until December however. The Quiberon spent the remainder of the year on the busiest Brittany Ferries route. She had been with the company for almost 21 years when she was sold in 2003. In 2004, another new ship, the Pont-Aven, was introduced on the Santander & Cork routes. She could travel much faster than the rest of the fleet, cutting journey times by a quarter. This allowed the Val de Loire to join the Bretagne on the St Malo route. Both ships also provided a new mid-week link to Cherbourg from Portsmouth.

In late 2004, the Duc De Normandie was withdrawn from the fleet. The Bretagne was transferred to the Roscoff route, leaving the Val de Loire at St Malo. The Coutances was also earmarked for disposal, but then a change of heart saw her being refitted, losing her Truckline livery in favour of the new Brittany Ferries logo.

More changes occurred in 2005 with the withdrawal of P&O's French routes from Portsmouth. A new fast craft, the Normandie Express was chartered to operate between Portsmouth and Cherbourg and Caen. In addition, the Poole-Cherbourg ship Barfleur was redeployed to operate a triangular service between Portsmouth, Poole and Cherbourg. A new ship has been announced, in part a replacement for the Coutances. The ship will be named the Cotentin. Purbeck was to have returned from operating in New Zealand and cover the Portsmouth-Cherbourg link but this plan has been dropped. Barfleur returned to the Poole-Cherbourg link in November 2005.

The former flagship of the fleet (from 1993 until the arrival of the Mont St Michel) Val de Loire left the fleet in February 2006, having been sold to DFDS and renamed King of Scandinavia. In the meantime, Brittany Ferries have taken a 2 year charter of the DFDS ship Duke of Scandinavia, which will be renamed Pont-L'Abbé and run on the Plymouth-Roscoff route. The Bretagne will return to the Portsmouth-St Malo route. Brittany Ferries have also announced a new build for the Plymouth-Roscoff route, to be launched early 2008. In February 2006 the Normandie Express was brought under the French flag.

Current fleet

The current fleet is as follows.

Passenger/freight ferries

MV Barfleur (built 1992)
MV Bretagne (built 1989)
MV Mont St Michel (built 2002)
MV Normandie (built 1992)
MV Pont-Aven (built 2004)
MV Pont L'Abbé (built 1978, on charter from DFDS as of March 2006)

Freight ferries

MV Coutances (built 1978, purchased 1985)

Fast craft

Normandie Express (built 2000, chartered 2005-2007, purchased January 2007)
Normandie Vitesse (formerly known as Brittany Ferries Condor Vitesse also known as Condor Vitesse, in use since 2001. Condor Vitesse is the vessel's official name.)

New Ships

MV Cotentin - Launched April 2007 (to be deployed between Poole and Cherbourg/Santander - expected delivery late 2007. This ship is the vessel codenamed Coutances II).

MV Armorique (to be deployed between Plymouth and Roscoff - expected delivery in 2008. This ship is the vessel codenamed Bretagne II )

Planned Ships

'Mont St Michel 2'

An article from the French newspaper 'Ouest France' revealed that Brittany Ferries have plans for a new ship for the Portsmouth-Caen route [1]. Aker Yards have declared an interest in building the ship for Brittany Ferries. The proposed ship would have capacity for 160 freight vehicles and is codenamed Mont St Michel 2.

Services

Regular services

Plymouth-Roscoff (Pont-L'Abbé, Pont-Aven, certain winter sailings operated by Bretagne)
Plymouth-Santander (Pont-Aven with winter service operated by Bretagne)
Poole-Cherbourg (Barfleur, Coutances (until mid-November 2007), Normandie Vitesse (BF trading name for Condor Vitesse), Cotentin (from mid-November 2007))
Poole-Santander (Cotentin Freight only weekend service from November 2007)
Portsmouth-St Malo (Bretagne with winter service operated by Pont-Aven)
Portsmouth-Ouistreham (Caen) (Mont St Michel, Normandie, Normandie Express, refit cover in January 2008 provided by Bretagne)
Roscoff-Cork (Pont-Aven, occasionally Bretagne)

Seasonal services

Portsmouth-Cherbourg (Normandie Express)

The route ended its 2006 summer season service on 28 October. In 2007 the route will only operate from 23 March 2007 to 29 October 2007. There will be no regular conventional ferry service.

On some previous occasions services have run between Plymouth and St Malo.

Onboard facilities

Brittany Ferries' vessels have a variety of onboard facilities. These include shops, self-service and A la Carte restaurants, bars and cafes. All vessels have a bureau de change on board. Most vessels have a cinema and gambling/gaming machines. In the past, the on-board shops often included a photography shop with film developing and printing facilities; however, the increase in popularity of digital photography has led to these shops being removed.

The fast craft have more limited facilities, such as a smaller shop and a bar/cafe.

External links