MV Pelagos Express
Ex Pelagos, Liverpool Seaways, Liverpool Viking, Lagan Viking
© Gena Anfimov (Klaipeda, 02/09/2020)
Steel twin screw “NAOS 109” motor vessel built in 1997 by Cantieri Navale “Visentini” di Visentini Francesco & C., Donada, Italy (Yard No 182) as a Ro-Pax Cargo Ship.
Technical Data
- Length: 186.0 m (overall) 169.50 m (between perpendiculars)
Breadth: 25.60 m
Depth: m
Draught: 6.50 m (max)
Tonnage: 21856 gross/6580 net/7115t deadweight
Engines: Two Wärtsilä 8R46 diesels. - Power: 15600 kW/HP
Speed: 24.0 knots (max)
Capacity: Total 2450 lm/Cars 200/Passengers 340
Call Sign: MEEJ7, LYTK, FRLH, FMMQ, 5BFG3
MMSI Number: 212806000 - IMO Number: 9136034
Port of Registry: Bari/Italy 🇮🇹, Belfast/UK 🇬🇧, Limassol/Cyprus 🇨🇾, Klaipeda/Lithuania 🇱🇹, Marseille/France 🇫🇷
Sister Ships: Mersey Viking (180)
History
March 12th 1996: Keel struck.
October 29th 1997: Delivered to Levantina Trasporti S.r.l., Bari, Italy.
October 1997: Chartered to Irish Ferries, Belfast.
November 16th 1997: Arrived Belfast.
November 16th 1997: Services between Belfast – Liverpool.
© Simonwp (Liverpool, 01/04/1998)(Left) © Scott Mackey (Right)
March 2001: Registered to Belfast Freight Ferries, Bari, Italy.
April 2002: Operations for Norse Merchant Ferries.
June 17th 2002: Services between Birkenhead – Belfast.
June 30th 2004: Registered to Belfast Freight Ferries, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
January 19th 2005: Renamed LIVERPOOL VIKING.
December 10th 2006: Services for Norfolk Line between Liverpool – Dublin.
© Malcolm Cranfield (Mersey, 18/02/2005)
© Malcolm Cranfield (Mersey, 03/08/2006)
© Scott Mackey
© Eerik Laine (Dublin, 04/03/2008) © Barry Graham (Birkenhead, 04/03/2009)
© Simonwp (Dublin, 01/07/2010)
July 12th 2010: Sale of Norfolklines to DFDS Seaways.
August 27th 2010: Renamed LIVERPOOL SEAWAYS.
January 30th 2011: Final service between Liverpool – Dublin.
January 31st 2011: Left Dublin for Kiel via Immingham
February 4th 2011: Arrived Kiel.
February 2001: Registered to Mare Blue Shipping Ltd, Cyprus (Management; Ab DFDS Seaways).
February 6th 2011: Arrived Klaipeda.
March 1st 2011: Services between Karlshamn – Klaipeda.
© Dirk Jankowsky (Karlshamn, 12/07/2011)
January 18th 2012: Failed safety checks in Karlshamn and forbidden to sail. Once rectified, continued service.
January 9th 2014: Chartered to Navirail for services between Hanko – Paldiski.
© Aleksi Lindström (Hanko, 27/03/2014)
January 9th 2015: DFDS services between Paldiski – Kapellskär.
September 2nd 2015: In severe weather, holed her starboard side, when she collided with a pontoon as she was docking.
September 4th 2015: Left Kapellskär for repairs in Klaipeda.
September 11th 2015: Returned to service.
September 2nd 2019: Sold to La Meridionale, France for delivery in May 2020.
December 21st 2019: Final service between Kapellskär – Paldiski.
January 2020: Commenced services between Klaipeda – Karlshamn.
February 10th 2020: Refit at Lindö, Odense.
March 13th 2020: Left Lindö, Odense for Klaipeda.
March 14th 2020: Services between Klaipeda – Karlshamn.
© Gena Anfimov (Klaipeda, 16/03/2020)
May 1st 2020 – May 3rd 2020: Services between Klaipeda – Kiel.
May 5th 2020: Transferred to La Meridionale, Marseille, France.
May 5th 2020: Laid up in Klaipeda.
July 1st 2020: Renamed PELAGOS.
September 2nd 2020: Left Klaipeda for Le Havre.
© Gena Anfimov (Klaipeda, 02/09/2020)
September 5th 2020: Arrived Le Havre.
© Nicolas Lévy (Le Havre, 13/09/2020)
October 6th 2020: Left Le Havre for Vigo.
October 12th 2020: Arrived Marseille for trials.
November 2020: Services between Marseille – Tangier.
March 13th 2021: Left Marseille, reported destination Dunkerque (eta 18/03/2021). Expected to replace DROTTEN Rosslare – Dunkerque service.
March 18th 2021: Arrived Dunkerque.
© Juilien Carpentier (Dunkerque, 18/03/2021)
March 24th 2921: With the release of DROTTEN, took up service Dunkerque – Rosslare.
March 25th 2021: Maiden arrival Rosslare
© Brian Boyce (Rosslare, 25/03/2021)
May 28th 2021: Quoted as being “not up to expectations for the route”, charter complete and came off service at Rosslare.
May 28th 2021: Sailed from Rosslare showing destination as Gibraltar.
June 3rd 2021: Arrived in Ajaccio (France).
June 4th 2021: Arrived in Marseille.
June 2021: Took up services between Marseille – Tanger Med.
© Juan G Mata (Tanger Med, 25/06/2022)
September 12th 2022: Came off service at Tanger Med and sailed to Santander for refit.
September 15th 2022: Arrived Santander.
October 25th 2022: Services Barcelona – Tanger.
February 2023: Announcement made:
La Méridionale is to end the Barcelona-Tanger route which began in November. The PELAGOS will make the final trip from Barcelona on 9 February and, after a car transport charter and relief duties, will be sold.
January 3rd 2025: Arrived Marseille.
January 6th 2025: Sold to United Marittim Egypt, (UME) for delivery in Spring 2025. To be replaced by, the recently purchased, NORMANDIE.
January 7th 2025 – January 13th 2025: Moved to repair dock to rectify a bow thruster fault.
January 18th 2025: Anticipated return to service before being transferred to her new owner.
March 1st 2025: Renamed PELAGOS EXPRESS. Registered Owner: Topero Holdings, c/o Arab Ship Management Ltd
March 7th 2025: Arrived Limassol.
March 20th 2025: Arrived Safage (Egypt) and took up services Safaga – Neom (Saudi Arabia).
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, Julien Carpentier, Malcolm Cranfield, Barry Graham, Dirk Jankowsky, Eerik Laine, Aleksi Lindström, Scott Mackey, Juan G Mata, Simonwp and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.
Thanks also to Tyrone Riddell
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
She has been renamed Pelagos Express and is underway to NEOM (Saudi Arabia), and under Cyprus registry