MV Norsun

MV Norsun, later renamed to Pride of Bruges, is a P&O Ferries ship crossing the North Sea between Zeebrugge and Hull.

History

The ship entered service in 1987 for Noordzee Veerdiensten or North Sea Ferries, then a joint-venture between Dutch Nedlloyd and English P&O. The first years it sailed on the Rotterdam-Hull route with sistership Norsea replacing Norstar and Norland. The Norsun sailed under Dutch flag and was owned by the Dutch half of the joint-venture, while the Norsea was British. In 1996 ownership transferred to P&O Ferries as Nedlloyd sold its 50% stake to P&O. The ships sailed the Rotterdam route until 2001 when they were replaced by Pride of Rotterdam and Pride of Hull
In 2002 the ships were transferred to the Zeebrugge-Hull route, replacing MV Norstar and Norland. Both ships were internally modernized before entering service on this new route.

Technical details

Dimensions

Both Norsun and Norsea have the following dimensions:
*length: 179,35 meter
*width: 25,35 m
*draught: 6,18 m
*Gross tonnage: 31.598 tThe maximum capacity is 1000 passengers and 850 cars (or 180 units of 12 meter, or mix)

Powerplant

Four Wartsila Sulzer engines driving two propellers, generating 26.100 hp. Cruise speed is 18,5 knots. Stabilizing fins are used to increase comfort by dampening movements in rough water.

ources

All details obtained from:
* [http://www.ferry-site.dk/ferry.php?id=8503797&lang=en Norsun] record on The Ferry Site
* [http://users.telenet.be/ornarf/files/norsun.htm Norsun details] on Belgium ferry site