MV Azores Express

ex Aeolos, Moby Love, Moby Love 2, King Orry, Channel Entente, Saint Eloi

Nigel Thornton Collection

Steel twin screw motor vessel built by Cantieri Navali di Pietra Ligure, Genoa. Italy (Yard No. 12) for the Societe Anonyme de Navigation Angleterre-Lorraine-Alsace (or A.L.A. for short) in 1972 as a multi-purpose passenger and roll-on roll-off ferry for cars, lorries and railway vehicles

Technical Data

Length on Deck: 114.59m(375.9 ft) (overall)/107.88m (354 ft) (between perpendiculars)
Breadth of Hull: 18.62m(61 ft) (extreme)
Depth: 37.8 ft (moulded)
Draught: 4.11m(13.5 ft) (maximum)
Tonnage: 4,649 – 5,435 gross/1,849 net/1,118 deadweight
Engines: Two 16-cylinder Atlantique/Pielstick four-stroke single-acting diesels
Power: 12,652kW
Speed: 21.8 knots
Capacity: 1,000 passengers and 160 cars; or 35 freight rail wagons; or 10 sleeping coaches and 11 freight rail wagons.
Call Sign: FNKC (1990 – 1998), IBDB (2007 – 2019), SVAJ3 (2019 – )
IMO Number: 7207451.
Registry: Dunkerque (1972 – 1990), Nassau (1990 – 1998), Napoli (1998 – ), Piraeus

Location Data

Please note that this vessels AIS transponder and position data may be over an hour old and that this specific vessels position will only be displayed when it is within range of the MarineTraffic AIS system. The AIS transponder/ship position data featured on this page is intended for information purposes only and it is no way related to the safety of navigation at sea. All the AIS ship position data featured within this website is provided by marinetraffic.com and we are therefore not responsible for the content or the accuracy of this data

History

November 24th 1969: Ordered

January 24th 1969: Keel struck

February 26th 1972: Launched

1972: Expected delivery date of October, but owing to liquidation of her builders she was seized by creditors and delivery was severely delayed. Laid up in Genoa.

July 1st 1972: Work recommenced at builders after the Italian Government gave financial support. Delivery set for early 1975.

February 1975: Delivered to Angleterre Lorraine Alsace S.A. de Navigation (ALA), Dunkerque, France. She had only one lifeboat on her bridge deck: The second pair was added later.

March 1st 1975: Arrived in Dunkerque.

Nigel Thornton Collection

March 12th 1975: Commenced service between Dunkerque-Dover.

March 23rd 1977: Angleterre Lorraine Alsace S.A. de Navigation (ALA) became a French operated wholly owned subsidiary of British Rail.

April 12th 1982: Holed whilst berthing at Dover. Proceeded straight to dry-dock and was back in service within 72 hours.

September 28th 1985: Commenced service as a freight ferry.

May 27th 1986 – September 27th 1986: Chartered to SNCF. Operated between Calais – Dover western docks.

Courtesy of Jim Ashby

Onboard the St Eloi

Courtesy of Jim Ashby

September 27th 1986: Operated as a freight ferry between Dover – Dunkerque.

May 1st 1987: Involved in a collision with the CAMBRIDGE FERRY 700 yards off Dover Breakwater as a result of which both vessels were badly damaged. Sent to Dunkerque for repairs.

May 16th 1987: Back in service.

1987 (summer): Operated as cover Newhaven – Dieppe.

Nigel Thornton Collection (left) and the Bernt Anderson Collection (right)

1987: “Preliminary report on an investigation into modifications aimed at increasing the commercial vehicle capacity…….”. Never materialised.

Courtesy of Terry Conybeare

March 27th 1988: Introduced as a night freight service Folkestone – Boulogne.

April 24th 1988: Final day in service between Dover – Dunkerque.

May 27th 1988 – September 1988: Operated between Calais – Dover Western Docks.

July 23rd 1988: Collided with the breakwater in Dover, suffered a badly dented stem.

Ferry Publications Library

January 8th 1989 – April 2nd 1989: Operated between Stranraer – Larne freight sailings

April 3rd 1989 – April 28th 1989: Operated between Holyhead – Dun Laoghaire on passenger sailings, as relief for ST COLUMBA which went to Bremerhaven for overhaul.

Courtesy of Sealink Heritage

May 20th 1989: Renamed CHANNEL ENTENTE.

Courtesy of Ed Connell

May 25th 1989: Commenced summer service between Calais – Dover Western Docks.

January 9th 1990: Left Dunkerque with Steam Packet crew

January 11th 1990: As CHANNEL ENTENTE made her first trip, for berthing trials, to Douglas, Isle Of Man.

January 13th 1990: Conducted berthing trials at Heysham.

Nigel Thornton Collection

February 5th 1990: Dry-docked and then moved into Bidston Dock, Birkenhead. Port of registry changed from Dunkerque to Nassau.

February 9th 1990: Sold to Vessel Holdings, Nassau, Bahamas.

February 14th 1990: Sold to the Isle Of Man Steam Packet, Nassau, Bahamas.

February 17th 1990: Public display of vessel in Douglas.

February 19th 1990: Commenced service between Douglas – Heysham.

September 27th 1990: Arrived at Wright & Beyer´s yard, Birkenhead for major refit. Given vehicle side loading doors and extra capacity; for up to 180 cars total. A second bow thrusters was added. The passenger accommodation was extended at the after end of the boat deck.

December 8th 1990: Renamed KING ORRY.

December 9th 1990: Commenced service between Douglas – Heysham/ Liverpool.

1992: New stern doors to use the new links-span at Heysham and Belfast

November 14th 1992: Suffered at steering failure and grounded on the Taylors Bank. Refloated and towed to Liverpool for survey/repairs.

February 1995: Registered in the Isle of Man, home port Douglas.

🆕 © Malcolm Cranfield (Heysham, 24/05/1996)

🆕 © Malcolm Cranfield (Heysham, 27/05/1997 (left) 05/07/1997 (right)

1998: For her “Final Season” she appeared with a blue hull.

Courtesy of Manx National Heritage (All 1998)

1998: Spent time on Liverpool – Dublin service covering SUPERSEACAT TWO.

September 21st 1998: Final departure from Dublin in ballast.

September 28th 1998: Final day in service between Heysham – Douglas.

September 29th 1998: Sailed for lay up at Birkenhead pending sale.

October 23rd 1998: Having been sold to Moby Lines S.r.l., Naples, Italy £2m), left Birkenhead for Naples.

October 21st 1998: Renamed MOBY LOVE.

October 23rd 1998: Left Birkenhead for Livorno.

October 29th 1998: Arrived at Livorno.

1998: Renamed MOBY LOVE 2.

April 1999: Commenced service between Piombino – Portoferraio.

2002: Renamed MOBY LOVE

2007: Remains in service Piombino – Portoferraio.

2016: Still in service.

February 2017: News circulating that she has been sold to Greek company ( Portucalence previous owners of the EXPRESS SANTORINI), will be used in the connections to and from the Greek islands. Also rumoured that she will be renamed CHRYSA.

“Sources say that Portucalence, a Greek-backed ferry company which operates services in Portugal’s Azores islands, is in the process of finalising a deal to buy the 5,400-gross-ton (gt) Moby Love (built 1975) and 5,700-gt Moby Baby (built 1966).

No official prices have been disclosed, but brokers say Moby has been marketing the pair for €1.5m ($1.67m)”.

March 22nd 2017: Left Piombino.

March 22nd 2017: Arrived Genoa and laid up.

June 28th 2017: Remains in Genoa.

October 7th 2017: Under tow, arrived in Drapetsona

November 1st 2017: Renamed AEOLOS

August 2018: Remains in Piraeus

December 3rd 2018: Remains in Perama, Piraeus where rebuild continues.

April 2019: According to the latest developments, the ship will be chartered in Atlantico Line and, from the summer, will operate in the Azores under the name of AZORES EXPRESS.

April 1st 2019: Renamed AZORES EXPRESS.

April 21st 2019: Towed by tug CHRISTOS XXII to Syros.

May 17th 2019: Announcement made by Atlantico Line that, owing to incompletion of refit, introduction into service has been delayed.

June 8th 2019: Sea trials.

(AIS track 08/06/2019)

June 26th 2019: Still in Piraeus.

August 11th 2019: Arrived in Alexandroupoli (Greece).

August 15th 2019: Arrived in Perama.

June 2020: According to AIS she remains in Perama

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: Ian Boyle, Ed Connell, Malcolm Cranfield, Bernd Crause, Aubrey Dale, Carsten Dettmer, Benoit Donne, Brian Fisher, Pieter Inpyn, A G Jones, Ken Larwood, Ian Lillford, Carlo Martinelli, Dimitris Mentakis, Dennis Mortimer, Craig Nelson, Mike Sartin, Bob Scott, Sealink Heritage, Simonwp and Andreas Wörteler.

Special thanks go to Jim Ashby, Ian Boyle (Simplon Shipping Postcards), Ian Collard, Terry Conybeare, Manx National Heritage and the World Ship Society (East Kent Branch).

One Comment

Andrew says:

23rd April 2019 at 12:19

From the Current Position map it looks like she has been left a mile inland, parked on a road!

Glad she is to be reused though, replacing Chartres.

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