MV St Clare
© Ray Goodfellow (Portsmouth, 16/04/2006)
Steel quadruple ‘Voith Schneider’ “204 PCU” motor vessel built in 2001 by Gdansk Shiprepair “Remontowa”, Gdansk, Poland (Yard No 653) as a Double Ended Car Passenger Ferry
Technical Data
- Length: 85.97 m (overall) m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth: 18.40 m (max)
- Depth: m
- Draught: 4.60 m (max)
- Tonnage: 5459 gross/ net/769 deadweight
- Engines: 4 x Wartsila 5L20 diesel
- Power: 3300 kW/HP
- Propulsion: 4 x Voith Schneider 21G 11/115 Cycloidal propellers
- Speed: 13 knots
- Capacity: 820 passengers + crew, 204 cars
- Crew: 15
- Call Sign: ZNNR5
- IMO Number: 9236949
- MMSI Number: 235002514
- Official Number: 904282
- Port of Registry: London/UK 🇬🇧
History
March 2001: Launched.
April 26th 2001: Christened.
July 2001: St Clare delivered to Ing Lease UK, Ltd, Portsmouth, UK (Management Wightlink Ltd).
July 12th 2001: Left builders for Portsmouth.
🆕 © Simonwp (Kiel, 2001)
July 16th 2001: Arrived Portsmouth.
July 20th 2001: Entered service between Portsmouth – Fishbourne.
© Robert J Smith (Portsmouth 16/04/2003) (Left) and © Derek Sands (2004) (Right)
© Andreas Wörteler (Portsmouth, 21/05/2004)
© Ray Goodfellow (Portsmouth, 16/04/2006)
January – February 2015: Totally refurbished during annual refit.
© Ray Goodfellow
© Carsten Dettmer (Left) and © John Jones (Right)
2018: Upper car decks extended by 5m at either end to enable double deck loading at Wightlinks newly refurbished terminals at Portsmouth Gunwharf and Fishbourne.
© Robert J Smith (Portsmouth, 07/12/2016) (Left) © Simonwp (Portsmouth, 12/06/2018)(Right)
© Ray Goodfellow
June 20th 2019: Damen Dunkirk shipyards due to a propeller problem.
© Julien Carpentier
June 29th 2019: Left Dunkirk for Portsmouth.
June 30th 2019: Resumed Portsmouth – Fishbourne.
January 24th 2020: Came off service at Portsmouth and sailed to Dunkirk.
January 25th 2020: Arrived Damen, Dunkirk (East).
February 13th 2020: Left Damen Dunkirk and sailed to Portsmouth.
February 14th 2020: Arrived in Portsmouth to resume service.
🆕 © Dogan (Portsmouth, July 2023)
September 6th – 8th 2023: Suffered a technical issue and had to cancel a number of sailings on the Fishbourne-Portsmouth route.
October 2023: Still in service Fishbourne-Portsmouth.
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: Carsten Dettmer, Dogan, Julien Carpentier, John Jones, Derek Sands, Simonwp, Robert J Smith and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
Dear Nigel ,
thank you for your interesting posts .
If you dont mind I would like ask you a question .
Years ago , if Im not wrong we use an abbreviation on MS not MV,
Could you explain it to me ,please
Thank you .
Best regards
Waldemar (Tim ) Kilian
Tim,
Thanks for your comment
Some thirteen years ago, when I started compiling the articles, I had to decide how to refer to the ships.
I did not find any definitive answer and it is my understanding that MV and MS are interchangeable.
Research on-line together with consulting “Old Sea Dogs” led me to decide on MV.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_prefix offers a further explanation.
Rgds
Nigel Thornton
Thank you very much Nigel .
You have put my mind at ease .
Best
Tim
You’re photos are always astonishing Nigel. Same with meticulous information. You’re one of a kind.
Caroline,
Aww, thanks.
I only put all this rubbish together. It is the contributors you really have to congratulate!
Nigel T