MV Mont St Michel
© Andreas Wörteler
Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 2002 by Van der Giessen de Noord, Krimpen aan den Ijssel, Holland (Yard No 1362) as a car/passenger ferry for BAI SA Bretagne-Angleterre-Irlande (Brittany Ferries), Roscoff, France.
Technical Data
- Length: 173.4m (overall) 162.25m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth: 28.5m
- Depth: 21.15m
- Draught: 6.21m
- Tonnage: 35,592 gross/10,677 net/5579t deadweight
- Engines: 4 x 4T – 6 cylinder MaK/Caterpillar 6M43 diesels
- Power: 21,600 kW/29,348 HP
- Main Engine Driven Generators: 2 – 2000 kVA – 1600 kW
- Diesel Generators: 3 – 1950 kVA – 1560 kW – 2201 HP
- Propulsion System: 2 Screw Propeller Controllable pitch LB 10.00 at 156 rpm
- Speed: 22.0 knots
- Fuel Capacity: 774 m³
- Capacity: 2,120 passengers, 874 cars
- Call Sign: FNMT
- MMSI Number: 227023100
- IMO Number: 9238337
- Register Number: 01800J
- Port of Registry: Caen/France 🇫🇷
Current AIS Location
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History
September 11th 2000: Ordered.
June 7th 2001: Keel struck.
March 16th 2002: Launched.
© Andreas Wörteler (16/03/2002)
November 8th 2002: Trials.
© Andreas Wörteler (26/10/2002)
December 2002: Delivered to BAI SA Bretagne-Angleterre-Irlande (Brittany Ferries), Roscoff, France.
December 11th 2002: Left Rotterdam for Caen.
December 13th 2002: Trials between Caen – Portsmouth.
🆕© Philippe Brébant (Caen, 13/12/2002
December 2002: Services Caen – Portsmouth.
© Andreas Wörteler (Portsmouth, 21/05/2004)
© Ray Goodfellow
2005: Services between Caen/Ouistreham – Portsmouth.
© Andreas Wörteler (Portsmouth, 21/08/2009)
© Ray Goodfellow
August 21st 2012: Whilst en-route between Portsmouth – Quistreham a fire broke out, extinguished by crew no serious damage.
© Andreas Wörteler (Ouistreham, 10/05/2013)
January 2014: Refit in Gdansk.
© Gena Anfimov (Gdansk)
February 2014: Resumed service.
© Ray Goodfellow (Arriving in Portsmouth, March 2015)
September 24th 2015: Last day in service before refit in Spain. During her three month absence the Armorique covered her sailings between Ouistreham (Caen) and Portsmouth.
September 26th 2015: Departed Cherbourg for Santander.
© Brittany Ferries (Santander, 28/09/2015)
September 28th 2015: Arrived at the Astander shipyard in Santander for an extended refit which would include the installation of an exhaust gas scrubbing system (scrubbers) and the construction of a third funnel casing to accommodate the new equipment. This additional funnel structure was built between the ships two existing funnels.
© Brittany Ferries (Installation of the scrubbers (Left) and the completed works before resuming service (Right))
December 8th 2015: Departed the Astander shipyard, Santander for Cherbourg, calling at Gijon on route for bunkers.
December 10th 2015: Scheduled to arrive in Cherbourg from refit in Santander.
December 12th 2015: Undertook sea trials in the Bay of Seine.
© Tony Weaver (Brittany Ferries Ships) (Close up of the new funnel)
December 18th 2015: Returned to service operating a one off voyage between Cherbourg and Portsmouth before resuming regular sailings between Portsmouth and Ouistreham (Caen).
© Tony Weaver (Brittany Ferries Ships)
April 24th 2016: Operated from Portsmouth to Cherbourg instead of Caen. This was to enable the ship to receive scheduled maintenance to her scrubbers alongside.
April 25th 2016: Operated from Cherbourg to Portsmouth following maintenance in the Port of Cherbourg.
April 25th 2016: Resumed regular service from Portsmouth to Caen.
© Ray Goodfellow
5th June 2016: Brittany Ferries celebrated 30 years of operations between Portsmouth and Caen. Services were inaugurated with the ‘Duc de Normandie‘ on the 5th June 1986.
December 31st 2016: Laid up in the Port of Le Havre for the New Year.
January 2nd 2017: Resumed service between Caen and Portsmouth.
© Ray Goodfellow (Departing Portsmouth, 04/06/2017)
© Simonwp (Portsmouth, 12/06/2018)
September 2018: Brest for repairs to one of her propellers.
September 17th 2018: Left Brest and sailed to Ouisterham.
September 18th 2018: Resumed service Caen – Portsmouth.
June 3rd 2019: Departed Portsmouth with a naval escort and a small ships flotilla. Veterans travelling with D-Day Revisited on-board, bound for Normandy for the D-Day 75 commemorations.
January 6th 2020: Refit in Gdansk. Annual maintenance and received her new company livery
February 3rd 2020: Refit completed.
© Dogan (Ouistreham (Caen Harbour) 16/02/2020)
February 4th 2020: Conducted some sea trails once out of Gdansk harbour before she moved off heading for Cherbourg.
March 2020: Owing to Covid 19 pandemic sailings between Portsmouth and Caen continued for freight only.
September 1st 2020: Announcement made ” She would continue three daily departures as normal, with ARMORIQUE covering her refit, running in freight-only mode.
November 3oth 2020: Left Portsmouth bound for Cherbourg before sailing to Gdansk for her annual maintenance.
December 30th 2020: Left Gdansk for sea trials.
January 3rd 2021: After sheltering in Bay of Seine arrived in Cherbourg.
January 4th 2021: Returned to service.
February 2021: Announcement made that she would continue Portsmouth – Caen.
December 25th 2021: Christmas Day lay-up in Le Havre.
December 26th 2021: Resumed service Caen – Portsmouth.
September 2022: Still in service Caen – 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: Gena Anfimov, Philippe Brébant, Brittany Ferries, Dogan, Fotoflite, Simonwp, Andreas Wörteler and Tony Weaver (Brittany Ferries Ships) for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
