MV GNV Antares
ex Pride of Bruges, Norsun
© Andreas Wörteler
Steel twin screw motor vessel, built in 1987 by Nippon Kokan (NKK), Tsurumi, Japan (Yard No 1033) as a passenger and vehicle ferry for for North Sea Ferries (Nedlloyd), Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Technical Data
- Length: 179.35m (overall) 169.50m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth: 25.35m (extreme)
- Depth: 17.91m
- Draught: 6.187m
- Tonnage: 31,598 gross/18,174 net/6,403 deadweight
- Engines: Two 9-cylinder and two 6-cylinder Sulzer-Wartsila ZA40 diesels.
- Power: 19,200kW/HP
- Speed: 19.0 knots
- Capacity: 1,250 passengers, 850 cars
- Call Sign: PGJW, 5BTT5, IBDC
- MMSI Number: 247435800
- IMO Number: 8503797
- LR Number: 175682
- Port of Registry: Rotterdam/Netherlands 🇳🇱, Limassol/Cyprus 🇨🇾, Naples/Italy 🇮🇹
- Sister-Ship: Norsea (256)
Current AIS Location
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History
August 29th 1986: Launched without ceremony.
March 31st 1987: Delivered to North Sea Ferries (Nedlloyd), Rotterdam, Holland.
© Patrick Hill
April 2nd 1987: Left Yokohama, Japan carrying 800 Nissan export cars for Amsterdam.
May 12th 1987: Commenced services for North Sea Ferries between Rotterdam – Hull. Registered to Hollandse Vrachtvaart Maats. BV, Rotterdam, Holland.
© Capt Jan Melchers (Left) and Chantry Classic Postcard (Right)
January 1st 1997: Registered to Norships CV, Rotterdam, Holland and commenced services for P&O North Sea Ferries between Rotterdam – Hull.
April 29th 2001: Final day in service between Rotterdam – Hull.
May 2001 – June 2001: Refit/rebuild at Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven.
July 2nd 2001: Commenced services between Zeebrugge – Hull.
October 15th 2002: Commenced services for P&O Ferries between Zeebrugge – Hull.
© Leo Johannes (Left) and P&O North Sea Ferries Postcard (Right)
January 15th 2003: Renamed PRIDE OF BRUGES.
© Andreas Wörteler
November 14th 2004 – November 25th 2004: Services between Rotterdam – Hull.
November 2004: Services between Zeebrugge – Hull.
© Rob De Visser
January 2007: Services between Rotterdam – Hull.
© Trevor Kidd
© Paul Bilbrough
January 2007: Services between Zeebrugge – Hull.
© Cedric Hacke
Pride of Bruges/Pride of York together (December 2014) © Andrew Atkinson
Departure (28/04/2015) © Andrew Atkinson
May 11th 2017: Taken out of service owing to “technical problems” (believed to be associated to gearbox).
May 2017: Received new livery and accommodation refit at Remontowa Shiprepair Yard.
© Cedric Hacke (Zeebrugge 12/05/2018)
September 30th 2020: Announcement made that the Hull – Zeebrugge route would be closed.
October 22nd 2020: Commenced services Hull – Rotterdam.
January 25th 2021: Left Hull on her final sailing to Rotterdam.
January 26th 2021: Arrived in Rotterdam.
January 27th 2021: Left Rotterdam for Zeebrugge.
January 27th 2021: Arrived Zeebrugge and laid up.
April 13th 2021: Reports circulating suggest she has been sold to to a subsidiary of MSC Group and that she will be chartered to MSC subsidiary Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV). It is anticipated the she will be renamed GNV ANTARES serving Barcelona-Mallorca & Valencia-Mallorca-Ibiza.
April 23rd 2021: Left Zeebrugge bound for Naples.
April 20th 2021: Arrived in Naples.
June 19th 2021: Commenced service Naples – Palermo.
December 4th 2022: Left Naples for Lamjane/Croatia.
December 6th 2022: Arrived Lamjane for “believed” winter lay up.
© Ralf Hobirk (Nauta Lamjane Shipyard, Kali, Croatia, 22/02/2023)
March 17th 2023: Arrived Naples.
March 28th 2023: Resumed service Naples – Palermo.
© Tony Davis (Naples, 18/04/2023)
June 9th 2024: Came off service and sailed to Naples Anchorage.
June 10th 2024: Left Naples Anchorage and sailed to Messina for general maintenance.
June 23rd 2024: Resumed service Naples – Palermo.
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: Andrew Atkinson, Pau Bilbrough, Tony Davis, Rob De Visser, Cedric Hacke, Trevor Kidd, Leo Johannes, Ralf Hobirk, Patrick Hill, Capt Jan Melchers and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.
Special thanks go to JustFerries
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
What is doing in Croatia,did jadrolinija bought this ship
Hi,
A usually reliable source say’s both ships are at Lamjane for winter lay-up
Rgds
Here they are both moored at the Nauta Lamjana Repair Shipyard, Kali, Island of Ugljan, Croatia. It doesn‘t seem that any works are ongoing.