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MV Finnforest – Past and Present

IMO Number: 7528623

MV Finnforest

Ex Bore Britannica, Stena Britannica, Stena Hispania, Kotka Violet, Stena Hispania, Merzario Hispania, Atlantic Project, Stena Project

© Simonwp

FinnForest – © Simonwp (Travemunde, 01/04/2010)

Steel twin screw “Stena Searunner” class motor vessel built in 1978 by Hyundai Shipbuilders & Heavy Industries, Ulsan, South Korea (Yard No 648) as a Passenger RoRo Cargo vessel.

Technical Data


History

In total, 11 vessels of the Stena Searunner design were built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea, and the first vessel was delivered in 1977. Those vessels remaining in service are operated by a number of operators around the world and as a group they are considered to be one of the most successful classes of RoRo vessels ever built.

1977: Keel struck as STENA PROJECT.

November 29th 1977: Launched.

March 23rd 1978: Delivered to Stena Container Line Ltd, London, England.

March 23rd 1978: Chartered to Atlantic Container Line. (ACL.) and renamed ATLANTIC PROJECT.

1978: Services between Southampton – Antwerp – Rotterdam – Le Havre – Liverpool – Gothenburg – Bremerhaven – Halifax – Montreal.

© Cees De Bijl

Atlantic Project – © Cees De Bijl (Hoek of Holland, 01/05/1978)

1979: Side sponsons added.

1981: Sold to Stena RoRo Line Ltd, Valletta, Malta.

1981: Chartered to Andrea Merzario S.P.A. Genoa, Italy and renamed MERZARIO HISPANIA. Services between Italy and Saudi Arabia.

November 1983: Returned to her owners after charter and transferred to Stena RoRo Line Ltd, Limassol, Cyprus. Renamed STENA HISPANIA.

© Simonwp

Stena Hispania – © Simonwp (Felixstowe, 01/09/1984)

© Simonwp

Stena Hispania – © Simonwp (Immingham, 06/11/1984)

1984: Transferred to Stena Caribbean Ltd, Georgetown, Cayman Island (c/o Swedish Caledonian Marine Management Ltd Clydebank).

1984: Chartered to Kotka Line Oy, Kotka, Finland and renamed KOTKA VIOLET. Services between Finland – Great Britain – West Africa.

1985: Returned from charter and renamed STENA HISPANIA.

© Ulrich Streich © Ulrich Streich

Stena Hispania – © Ulrich Streich Kiel, 1985)

January 8th 1986: Renamed STENA BRITANNICA. Management av Stena Ab, Gothenburg.

1986: Additions  made to her weather deck at Hapag Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany.

© Simonwp

Stena Britannica – © Simonwp (Felixstowe, 16/06/1986)

1986: Stena Portlink services between Sweden – Great Britain.

© Simonwp

Stena Britannica – © Simonwp (Terneuzen, 01/05/1987)

© Ken Larwood

🆕 Stena Britannica – © Ken Larwood (1988)

January 1988: Chartered to Oy Rettig Ab, Helsinki, Finland and renamed BORE BRITANNICA.

January 1988: Chartered to Bore Ro-Ro for services betweeen Finland – Great Britain.

December 1st 1988: Sold to Oy Rettig Ab, Turku, Finland.

December 7th 1988: Handed over to the new owners for services between Helsinki – Kiel.

© Capt Jan Melchers

Bore Britannica – © Capt Jan Melchers (Elbe, 10/08/1989)

January 14th 1991: Collided with DRONNING MARGRETHE II in Fehmarn Belt.

January 1992: Chartered to Finncarriers Oy Ab, Helsinki, Finland for services Turku – Rauma – Rauma – Travemünde – Rostock – Lübeck.

© Simonwp

Bore Britannica – © Simonwp (Hull, 20/07/1994)

November 4th 1996: Sold to Bore Lines Ab, Stockholm.

November 21st 1996: Renamed FINNFOREST.

1997: Chartered to P&O North Sea Ferries, For a round trip between Hull – Zeebrugge.

1999: Registered for Strömma Turism & Sjöfart AB, Stockholm.

October 2001: Services between Helsinki – Aarhus.

January 2007: Services between Helsinki – Gdynia.

© Andreas Wörteler © Andreas Wörteler

Finnforest – © Andreas Wörteler (Gdynia, 05/05/2007)

December 4th 2007: Sold to Weissfiord Shipping Ltd, c / o Celtic Link Ferries ltd, Dublin, Ireland and chartered out to Finnlines for services between Helsinki – Gdynia. 

© Wolfgang Fricke

Finnforest – © Wolfgang Fricke (Helsinki, 04/11/2009)

2009: Services between Turku – Travemünde.

© Andreas Wörteler © Andreas Wörteler

Finnforest – © Andreas Wörteler (Travemunde, 24/04/2010)

July 6th 2010 – July 12th 2010: Left Travemünde for Dublin.

July 29th 2010: Laid up in Waterford.

Finnforest – © ? (Waterford)

September 30th 2010: Left Waterford for Rosslare then Naples.

October 13th 2010: Chartered to SNAV for services Naples – Palermo.

Finnforest – © Commis

June 2011 – August 12th 2011: Services Palermo – Genoa.

August 12th 2011: Left Palermo for Alang..

September 3rd 2011: Arrived Alang for scrapping.

 


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: Cees De Bijl, Wolfgang Fricke, Capt Jan Melchers, Simonwp, Ulrich Streich and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.

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

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