MV Ranine
ex Flanders Way, Gabriele Wehr, Sari, Gabriele Wehr, Tor Anglia, Gabriele Wehr
Edmund Ziegler Collection
Steel twin screw motor vessel, built in 1978 by Rickmers Werft, GmbH, Bremerhaven, Germany. (Yard No. 391) as a RoRo Cargo ship
Technical Data
- Length: 108.31 – 141.13m (overall), 129.50 – 133.20m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth of hull:Â 17.43m
- Depth: 12.20 m
- Draught: 5.218 m
- Tonnage: 1599-2185-7635 gross/1162-2290 net /2866-4190-4322t deadweight
- Engines: 2 Oil 4SA MaK 8M453C diesels
- Power:Â 6,000 bhp/4,413 kW
- Speed: 15.0 knots
- Capacity: 12 passengers, cars 40, TEU 140-341, Containers 140-20’/180-20’
- Crew: 20
- Call Sign: Â DNGW,H9KP,V3OI5, 9HIA9
- IMO Number: 7720477
- Official Number:
- Registry: Hamburg/Germany 🇩🇪, Panama 🇵🇦, Belize 🇧🇿,Valletta/Malta 🇲🇹
- Sister Ships: Emadala (395), Mashala (389), Salahala (390), Thomas Wehr (388)
History
October 14th 1977: Keel laid.
March 14th 1978: Launched.
” Third in a series of five RoRo Ferries built by Rickmers Werft, GmbH, Bremerhaven and all built for chartering to operators”
June 8th 1978: Delivered to Oskar Wehr Transport, Hamburg, Germany.
June 1978 – August 1978: Services between Europe – West Africa.
September 1978: Services for Hanse Ferries between Hamburg – Bremen – Felixstowe – Middlesbrough and later Hamburg – Sheerness.
© Bob Scott (Sheerness, 14/05/1979)
October 26th 1979 – November 21st 1979: Chartered to North Sea Ferries B.V, for services between Zeebrugge – Hull.
© Simonwp (Hull, 10/11/1979)
1980: Hanse Ferries between Hamburg – Bremen – Felixstowe – Middlesbrough and later Hamburg – Sheerness.
1981: Chartered to Lübeck Line for services Södertälje – Lübeck.
1981: Chartered to Tor Line, Gothenburg for services between Immingham – Rotterdam.
© Simonwp (Immingham, 09/01/1981)
© Simonwp (Immingham, 15/09/1981)
January 24th 1982 –  February 6th 1982: Chartered to North Sea Ferries B.V, Rozenburg for services between Zeebrugge – Hull.
February 7th 1982 –  February 23rd 1982: Services Rotterdam – Hull.
April 23rd 1982 – July 9th 1982: Chartered to North Sea Ferries B.V, Rozenburg for services Zeebrugge – Hull.
July 1982: Â Refit and lengthening at Werft Nobiskrug, Rendsburg.
August 2nd 1982: Chartered to Tor Lloyd, for services Rotterdam – Immingham. Renamed TOR ANGLIA.
Â
© John Jones (Hook of Holland, August 1982) (Left) and © Simonwp (Rozenberg, 08/08/1982)
Â
© Brian Fisher (New Waterway, 1982) (Left) and © Simonwp (Immingham, 16/09/1982)
© Brian Fisher (Esbjerg, July 1985)
July 8th 1985: Renamed GABRIELE WEHR.
January 7th 1986 – November 11th 1986: Chartered to North Sea Ferries B.V., Rozenburg for services between Zeebrugge – Hull.
© Simonwp (Hull, 21/09/1986)
November 21st 1986 –  July 6th 1987: Chartered to North Sea Ferries for services between Zeebrugge – Hull.
1987: Chartered to Kent Line.
1988: Chartered to Brittany Ferries, Roscoff, France for services between Caen – Portsmouth,
March 1989: Services between Genoa – Rades (Tunisia).
April 10th 1989: Chartered to P&O European Ferries for services between Le Havre – Portsmouth.
© Bob Scott (Portsmouth)
July 23rd 1989 – August 14th 1989: Refit in Bremerhaven.
April 1990: Services between Dover – Calais.
July 1992: Charter completed.
October 1992: Chartered to Sally Line for services Ramsgate – Ostend.
© Ted Ingham (Ramsgate)
December 21st 1992: Renamed SARI.
April 27th 1993: Renamed GABRIELE WEHR.
May 1993: Chartered to P&O European Ferries Ltd., Portsmouth for services between Portsmouth – Le Havre.
June 1996 – October 1999: P&O services between Felixstowe – Zeebrugge.
Â
© Pieter Inpyn (Ostend, 01/08/1997)
October 1999: Laid up in Wilhelmshaven.
2000: Chartered to Ferryways NV, Ostend, Belgium for services Ostend – Ipswich.
July 2001: Sold to  Ferryways NV, Panama and renamed FLANDERS WAY.
Â
© Pieter Inpyn (Ostend, 01/08/2004)
June 13th 2007: Ferryways went bankrupt.
July 1st 2007: Not being part of the bankruptcy claim she was laid up on Ostend.
July 2007: Taken over by Roroco NV (subsidiary of Cobelfret)
July 9th 2007: Arrived in Rotterdam ready for services between Rotterdam – Purfleet/ Dartford.
July 31st 2007: Services for Roroco NV/Cobelfret Ferries between Ostend – Harwich.
Â
© Nigel Thornton (Ostend, 24/08/2007)
September 17th 2007: Arrived at Remontowa, Gdansk for refit.
October 39th 2007: Services between Ostend – Harwich.
December 2007: Services between Killingholme – Ostend.
January 2008: Registered to Roroco NV, Valletta, Malta.
March 2008: Dart Line/Cobelfret Ferries services between Oostende – Killingholme/Harwich/Dartford.
April 14th 2008: Dart Line/Cobelfret Ferries services between Ostend – Killingholme/ Dartford.
April 2009: Renamed RANINE.
© Simonwp (Ipswich, 01/04/2009)
July 1st 2009: Arrived in Tilbury.
July 6th 2009: Services between Rotterdam – Ipswich.
Â
© Cedric Hacke (Ostend, 17/07/2009)
August 1st 2009: Laid up in Tilbury.
March 2010: Sold to Asya RoRo Turizm Nakliyat ve Tic Ltd Sti, Istanbul, Turkey (Yoroz Shipping Co, Ltd, Belize).
March 11th 2010: Left Ipswich for Famagusta (Cyprus).
March 22nd 2010: Arrived in Famagusta.
April 5th 2010: Arrived in Istanbul.
April 2010: Services in the Black Sea.
May 2012: Sold to A-say Shipping Co Ltd, Belize.
July 2013: Sold to Salem Seaways, Inc, Belize.
August 6th 2013: Arrived Chittagong Roads, Bangladesh.
August 25th 2013: Beached and scrapping commenced.
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: Brian Fisher, Tony Garner, Cedric Hacke, Ted Ingham, Pieter Inpyn, John Jones, Bob Scott, Simonwp and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
Many minds and talents obviously go into producing and capturing all these fascinating histories. Thank you for the enormous work you do in pulling it all together Nigel.
Caroline,
Many thanks.
By the number of visits to the site it appears that other people like the histories as well.
Special rgds
Nigel Thornton
Splendid work! Hours of interest and joy in these days of self isolation. Many thanks. Keeps an old sailor very happy
I’m sure you don’t do requests, but perhaps, just this once, any chance of seeing the old RMS ‘Princes Maud’? She had
many years of hard work on the Irish Sea, and a very busy war!
Dafydd,
Many thanks for the comments. Appreciated.
Actually with the current situation I do requests so, I’ll have a look through my library and see what I can come up with!
Rgds
Nigel Thornton
After the capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise at Zeebrugge on 6th March 1987 Wolfgang Schröder, the German captain of the ferry MV Gabriele Wehr was commended by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and received a medal from King Baudouin of Belgium for his heroic efforts in rescuing passengers.