HSC Normandie Express

The HSC "Normandie Express" is a fast catamaran ferry owned and operated by Brittany Ferries. Since being built in 2000, the vessel has been bore the names "Incat Tasmania" and "The Lynx".

History

She was purchased from Incat in early 2007 for £30m ($38.9m) having been on chartered from them since 2005. She was built as "Incat Tasmania" at the Incat yards in Tasmania, Australia. Her first use was on charter to the Australian Trade Commission as a floating conference centre during the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney. Later that year she was chartered to Tranz Rail for their Interisland Line service between Picton and Wellington, New Zealand. She was renamed "The Lynx" for this service and remained on the route until 2003 when she was returned to Incat.

Europe

In September 2004 P&O Ferries announced they were to withdraw their services from Portsmouth to France, Brittany Ferries later announced they would run a fastcraft service between Portsmouth and Cherbourg/Caen (Ouistreham) as a replacement and "The Lynx" was chartered. In January 2005 she was renamed "Normandie Express" and sailed for France, stopping off in Indonesia to drop off supplies and equipment for the tsunami relief effort.

Also on-board for the trip to Europe was the French yacht "Sill et Veolia" which was being returned to France after being damaged whilst on the Vendée Globe round-the-world yacht race. After calling in at Roscoff to drop off the yacht and be shown off to Brittany Ferries management, she undertook berthing trials in Portsmouth, Cherbourg and Ouistreham before starting service in March 2005.

For her first year in service with Brittany Ferries the "Normandie Express" had a bridge and engine room crew supplied by Northern Marine and was registered in Nassau but protests from French unions meant that for 2006 she would fly the French flag and be registered in Caen with a full French crew.

"Normandie Express" is currently the largest high speed catamaran operating on the English Channel.

Regular routes

Normandie Express operates on two routes normally from late March to mid November. She spends the rest of year laid up.

*Portsmouth-Cherbourg
*Portsmouth-Caen (Ouistreham) (Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings only)

Additional routes

In February 2008, Normandie Express covered the Plymouth-Roscoff route due to the Pont L'Abbe's delayed return from refit.

Onboard facilities

Bars and restaurants

*Le Café.
*Le Bar x2.

Shop

*La Boutique.

The vessel was fitted with a Club lounge and children's play area but these were removed during the refit for Brittany Ferries in favour of more standard seats. "Condor Vitesse" which operates for Brittany Ferries and Condor Ferries Ltd. between Poole and Cherbourg has these facilities.

External links

* [http://www.brittanyferries.com Brittany Ferries official site]
* [http://www.bfenthusiasts.com Brittany Ferries Enthusiasts site]
* [http://www.normandie-express.com Unofficial Normandie Express site, part of the Brittany Ferries Enthusiasts site.]