MS King of Scandinavia

MS "King of Scandinavia" is a cruiseferry operated and owned by the Danish shipping company DFDS Seaways on a route connecting Newcastle, England to IJmuiden in the Netherlands. She was built in 1987 as MS "Nils Holgersson" by Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven, West Germany for TT-Line. Between 1993 and 2006 the ship was named MS "Val de Loire", owned by Brittany Ferries and used on traffic across the English Channel.

History

MS "Nils Holgersson" 1987–1993

The MS "Nils Holgersson" (fourth ship to bear the name in TT-Line's fleet) was built as the younger sister of the MS "Peter Pan". The sisters were notably larger than any ships to have sailed for TT-Line before. Originally the "Nils Holgersson" was ordered by Ab Swecarrier (owners of TT-Line), but during construction she was sold to Wallenius Rederiet. When she was delivered in February 1987 the ship was bareboat-chartered back to Swecarrier, and began service between Trelleborg (Sweden) and Travemünde (West Germany) in June of the same year. In February 1992 the ship was sold to SweFerry, but kept in the same traffic.

MS "Val de Loire" 1993–2006

In January 1993 the "Nils Holgersson" was sold to Brittany Ferries and renamed MS "Val de Loire". Before entering service for her new owners, the ship was rebuilt at INMA, La Spezia, Italy with a new streamliner forward superstructure and refurbished interiors. Inside the theme used was "Maritime Tradition", with many artifacts and ship models on display in her public areas. The facilities on board "Val de Loire" were very similar in style to those found on board the "Normandie" and the "Barfleur". The "Val de Loire" was the first Brittany Ferries vessel to include a swimming pool, though when the ship was transferred to the Portsmouth–St Malo route it was rarely open.fact|date=March 2008

After the rebuild was completed in June 1993, the ship entered service on Brittany Ferries' Plymouth–Santander route, as well as Plymouth–Roscoff and Cork–Roscoff. In 2004 the new MV "Pont-Aven" replaced the "Val de Loire" on her old routes, and she was transferred to serve on the Portsmouth–St Malo and Portsmouth–Cherbourg routes . In November 2005 the "Val de Loire" was sold to DFDS Seaways for delivery in 2006. Her final crossing with Brittany Ferries was between Portsmouth and Cherbourg on 20 February 2006.

MS "King of Scandinavia" 2006–present

In February 2006 the "Val de Loire" ended her service with Brittany Ferries and was renamed MS "King of Scandinavia" (she is the third ship of the same name to sail with DFDS Seaways). Between 2 and 11 March she was refitted for her new service in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and on 11 March she began serving on DFDS Seaways' Newcastle - IJmuiden route, running parallel to MS "Queen of Scandinavia". In May 2007 the MS "Queen of Scandinavia" swapped routes with MS "Princess of Norway", a sister ship of the "King of Scandinavia".

On 22 February 2008, the "King of Scandinavia" broke free from its moorings at North Shields during high winds, drifting across the River Tyne and colliding with an oil rig moored on the opposite bank. There were no passengers on board at the time of the incident. Sailings were suspended while repairs were carried out [cite news
title=Crash ferry's sailings suspended |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7261527.stm |date=2008-02-25 |accessdate=2008-02-26] .

ister Ships

The "Nils Holgersson" was one of two ships built for TT-Line. The other was the "Peter Pan" (built 1986), later the first "Spirit of Tasmania" of TT-line (Tasmania), and subsequently the "Princess of Norway" of DFDS Seaways. Currently, the two sister ships are both in service on the Newcastle-IJmuiden route.

An additional two sisters were constructed for TT Line's sister company, Olau Line: the "Olau Hollandia" (built 1989) and "Olau Britannia" (built 1990). These two vessels were subsequently operated by P&O Ferries and are currently in service with Italian operator SNAV.

The former "Koningin Beatrix" (built 1986), now the "Stena Baltica" of Stena Line was built byVan der Gissen De Noord, to a similar design.

References

External links

* [http://www.dfds.co.uk/DSW/EN/Top_Navigation/Company/Press+Center/Pressreleases/Rise.htm DFDS Unveils the m.s King of Scandinavia]
* [http://www.bfenthusiasts.com/valdeloirefarewell.htm Brittany Ferries Enthusiasts feature: Farewell to the Val de Loire]
*sv icon [http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/nils_holgersson_1987.htm M/S Nils Holgersson at Fakta om Fartyg]

de:M/S King of Scandinavia