CLdN RoRo (Cobelfret)Compagnie Tunisienne de Navigation (CTN/COTUNAV)Denval MarineEstlinePast and PresentRoRo

MV Cap Canaille – Cargo from the Past

IMO Number: 7500736

MV Monarch Countess

ex Cap Canaille, Libeccio, Seafowl, Cap Lardier

© Fotoflite Image Ref 173314

© Fotoflite (03/05/1995)

Steel single screw motor vessel built in 1977 by Societe Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre, Le Havre, France (Yard No 239) as a Roll On/Roll Off (RoRo) Cargo ship for the Compagnie Maritime des Chargeurs Reunis SA (CMCR), Marseille, France

Technical Data

  • Length: 109.71m (overall), 98.86m (between perpendiculars)
  • Breadth of Hull: 17.53m(extreme), 17.51m (moulded)
  • Depth: 11.10m
  • Draft: 5.23m
  • Tonnage: 1575 gross/780 net/2743 deadweight
  • Engines: 2 x Oil SA 9-cylinderMAK 9M453AK diesels
  • Power: 4854 kW/6599bHP
  • Speed: 15.0 knots
  • Capacity: 12 passengers and 672 m of cargo
  • Call Sign: FQRQ ,V4JV4
  • MMSI Number: 341072000 (Last)
  • IMO Number: 7500736
  • Official Number: 363341
  • Registry:Marseille/France 🇫🇷, Nassau/Bahamas 🇧🇸, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 🇹🇫, Panama 🇵🇦, Dar es Salaam/Tanzania 🇹🇿, Basseterre/St Kitts and Nevis 🇰🇳
  • Sister Ships: Cap Benat (237) , Cap Taillat (240)

History

February 6th 1977: Launched.

July 1977: Delivered to Compagnie Maritime des Chargeurs Reunis SA (CMCR), Marseille, France.

1983: Sold to Société Daher de Gérance et d’Armement SA, Marseille, France and renamed GYPTIS.

1987: Renamed SEAFOWL. Registered to: Shipping Management SAM (V. Ships), Nassau, Bahamas, with partners Topaz Shipping & Trading Co).

© Gordon Dalzell

© Gordon Dalzell (Helsinki, August 1986)

1988: VASCO services UK – Spain.

1989: Chartered to Cobelfret for services Belgium – UK.

© Simonwp

© Simonwp (Felixstowe, 01/09/1989)

1989: Registered owner: Topaz Shipping & Trading.

1991: Chartered to Conade with purchase option.

© Pascal Bredel

© Pascal Bredel (Le Havre, 01/07/1991)

© Fotoflite Image Ref 118427  © Fotoflite Image Ref 118431

© Fotoflite (05/08/1991)

1992: Sold to Conade for USD 3.800.000 and renamed LIBECCIO.

1992: Registered to Denval SA, Port aux Français, Kerguelen, Antarctica and renamed CAP CANAILLE.

© Fotoflite Image Ref 154326

© Fotoflite (20/01/1994)

April 1994: Chartered to Estline.

April 12th 1994 – November 10th 1994: Services Stockholm – Tallinn.

June 25th 1994: Heavy weather between Tallinn – Stockholm causing two lorries and a container to break free. The vessel capsized but was later righted.

© Dirk Jankowsky

🆕 © Dirk Jankowsky (Oxdjupet, 21/07/1994)

October 3rd 1994: Ran aground at Furuholmen, just south of Vaxholm. A bunker tank leaked and the ship returned to Frihamnen. The ship was taken out of service after the accident and required shipyard repairs.

November 1994: Returned to owner.

1994: Services France – North Africa.

© Pascal Bredel

© Pascal Bredel (Le Havre, 22/12/1994)

1995: Carried “Live Exports” at Dover.

© Fotoflite Image Ref 177410

© Fotoflite (17/07/1995)

2004: Chartered to Cotunav for services France – Tunisia.

© Ingvar

© Ingvar (Marseille, 14/02/2004)

© Benoit Donne

© Benoit Donne (St Barth, April 2005)

June 2007: Registered to CMA CGM SA The French Line, Marseille, France.

© Yvon Perchoc

© Yvon Perchoc (Fort de France, Martinique – FWI, 07/09/2007)

© Wil Weijsters

© Wil Weijsters (San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19/01/2009)

© Rogério Cordeiro

© Rogério Cordeiro (Saint Martin, 15/10/2011)

May 2012: Sold to Monarch Shipping Co Ltd, Nassau, Bahamas and renamed MONARCH COUNTESS. Used for transporting, each week, cars shipped by Haitian migrants in the US to their families. She used to call at the ports of Cap Haïtien, Saint Marc, Gonaïves or Miragoâne.

November 2021: “The crew reported several months owed wages. Salary arrears were paid in January 2022, the Hondurian crew was eventually repatriated. The vessel returned to the port of Palm Beach and was then abandoned. However, the shipowner continued to take shipping orders. 1300 cars waiting to be loaded were stored on a leased property. The port authorities requested the seizure of the Monarch Countess. The customers who had paid from 800 to 1100 US$ have been struggling to get their vehicles back. After being at the port for more than 9 months, some cars were leaking oil, some others still contained perishable items.”.

November 18th 2021: Abandonment Notice: “Crew reports owner has not paid in excess of two months wages. Insufficient food for proper nutrition on board the vessel.”.

June 2022: “There were still 269 un-retrieved vehicles and the vessel was in no better condition: she was taking on water and had to be pumped out regularly.”. 

July 2022: “A federal judge authorized the Port of Palm Beach to sell her to the highest bidder. Her destination of demolition is not known. Monarch Shipping also owns another ro-ro vessel, the Monarch Princess, discarded at Fort Pierce, north of Palm Beach, since April 2022. She too should be seized and sold.

August 10th 2022: Sale “As is” ordered by U.S. Dept of Justice, United States Marshals Service, Southern District of Florida West, Palm Beach Div

November 3rd 2022: Sold to Breakers 250 USD /TO “As is”, Palm Beach.


All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Pascal Bredel, Rogério Cordeiro, Gordon Dalzell, Benoit Donne, Fotoflite, Ingvar, Dirk Jankowsky, Yvon Perchoc, Simonwp  and Wil Weijsters for their assistance in producing this feature.

Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)

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