MS ''GNV Cristal'' is a
cruiseferry
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...
owned by the
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
-based
SNAV
SNAV (Società Navigazione Alta Velocità) is an Italian company that operates ferry services from Italy to Sardinia, Croatia and Sicily.
Routes
SNAV operates a large network of routes across the Mediterranean and Adriatic.
*Naples - Palerm ...
and operated by their
Grandi Navi Veloci
Grandi Navi Veloci (''GNV'') is an Italian shipping company, based in Genoa, that operates ferry, ferries between mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, France, Albania, Morocco and Tunisia. It was established by Aldo Grimaldi in 1992.
History
GN ...
brand.
She was built in 1989 by
Schichau Seebeckwerft
Schichau Seebeckwerft (often abbreviated SSW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.
History
The original company Schichau was founded in 1837 by Fer ...
in
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
as MS ''Olau Hollandia'' for
Olau Line
Olau Line was a shipping company that existed from 1956 to 1994. It operated a ferry service from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands from 1974 until 1994. Originally based in Denmark, the company passed under the ownership of the German TT-Li ...
. From 1994 to 2005 she sailed as MS ''Pride of Le Havre'' for
P&O ferries
P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O ...
.
From 2005 to 2017 she operated as the ''SNAV Sardegna'' between
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
,
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
and
Olbia
Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...
.
Concept and construction
Olau Line
Olau Line was a shipping company that existed from 1956 to 1994. It operated a ferry service from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands from 1974 until 1994. Originally based in Denmark, the company passed under the ownership of the German TT-Li ...
had been owned by the
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
-based
TT-Line
TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...
since 1979. Under TT-Line ownership, Olau Line had acquired two purpose-built ferries from
AG Weser Seebeckwerft,
''Olau Hollandia'' and
''Olau Britannia'' for their
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
—
Vlissingen
Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...
service. During the mid-80s TT-Line acquired
MS ''Peter Pan'' (1986) and
MS ''Nils Holgersson'' (1986), enlarged versions of ''Olau Hollandia'' and ''Olau Britannia'' design also from
AG Weser Seebeckwerft, for their
Trelleborg
Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...
—
Travemünde
Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Bay of Lübeck, Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, an ...
service. During the latter half of the decade, TT-line decided to order two more ships of the ''Peter Pan''-type, again from
AG Weser Seebeckwerft in
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
as replacements for the two Olau ships. During the build the shipyard merged with Schichau Unterweser to become
Schichau Seebeckwerft
Schichau Seebeckwerft (often abbreviated SSW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.
History
The original company Schichau was founded in 1837 by Fer ...
. The first of these ships was delivered in 1989 as the second ''Olau Hollandia'', replacing her older namesake.
Service history
1989–1994: ''Olau Hollandia''
The second ''Olau Hollandia'' was delivered to
TT-Line
TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...
on 29 September 1989, and five days later she entered service on
Olau Line
Olau Line was a shipping company that existed from 1956 to 1994. It operated a ferry service from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands from 1974 until 1994. Originally based in Denmark, the company passed under the ownership of the German TT-Li ...
's service between
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
and
Vlissingen
Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...
.
On entering service she replaced the first . The ''Olau Hollandia''s sister, , followed a year later. In practice the new ''Olau Hollandia'' and ''Olau Britannia'' proved to be too extravagant for the service, and TT-Line was forced to look into cost-cutting measures to keep the ships running.
On 6 January 1993 the ''Olau Hollandia'' was re-registered to
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, but after a series of strikes and other protests in part of the German seamen's trade union, TT-Line were forced to return the ship into German registry on 3 February 1993. Subsequently, TT-Line drew up plans for swapping the Olau ships with the ships in
Trelleborg
Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...
—
Travemünde
Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Bay of Lübeck, Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, an ...
service, and moving the resulting new Olau ships into
Bahamian registry. Another strike on board the Olau ships followed, and in May 1994 TT-Line decided to close down the Olau Line brand entirely, with the ''Olau Hollandia'' and ''Britannia'' chartered to
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O ...
. The ''Olau Hollandia'' made her last sailing for Olau Line on 15 May 1994.
1994–2005: ''Pride of Le Havre''
On 6 May 1994 the ''Olau Hollandia'' was named ''Pride of Le Havre'' and re-registered to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
replacing an earlier
''Pride of Le Havre'' that was in turn renamed ''Pride of Cherbourg''. Although planned for the
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
—
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
route, she entered service on the Portsmouth—
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
route
The Pride of Le Havre only did one sailing to Cherbourg when she took Veterans across to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of D Day.ref. Capt.M Edward.
While outbound from Le Havre on the evening 27 July 1998, the ''Pride of Le Havre'' suffered a switchboard explosion in the engine room, resulting in a fire in the engine room and loss of electrical power throughout the ship. Three members of the crew were seriously injured in the explosion. After the fire had been extinguished and power restored, the ship returned to Le Havre with the assistance of two
tugs. The injured crewmen were transported to a local hospital, where the most seriously injured crewman died five days later. After unloading the injured crewmen the ''Pride of Le Havre'' sailed to Portsmouth, where she arrived early the next morning. In Portsmouth all passengers and cargo were unloaded and the ship itself was subsequently repaired.
On 18 March 1999 the ship suffered another engine room fire. This time repairs were carried out in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, and the ship was back in service on 24 March 1999.
On 28 September 2004 plans to charter the ''Pride of Le Havre'' and her sister ''Pride of Portsmouth'' to
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, ...
were made public. The plans came under scrutiny of the relevant
competition regulator
A competition regulator is the institution that oversees the functioning of the markets. And the Law in which it takes cognizance of situations having any type of impediments and distortions on the markets and correct them is the competition law ...
s, and as a result Brittany Ferries decided not to charter the ships.
They remained in P&O Ferries service until 30 September 2005, when they were withdrawn from service and subsequently laid up on the
River Fal
The River Fal ( kw, Dowr Fala) flows through Cornwall, England, rising at Pentevale on Goss Moor (between St. Columb and Roche) and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth. On or near the banks of the Fal are the castles of Pendennis and ...
.
2006–2017: ''SNAV Sardegna''
![SNAV Sardegna (ship, 1989), Sète 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/SNAV_Sardegna_%28ship%2C_1989%29%2C_S%C3%A8te_01.jpg)
In November 2005 TT-Line sold the ''Pride of Le Havre'' and ''Pride of Portsmouth'' to the
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
-based
SNAV
SNAV (Società Navigazione Alta Velocità) is an Italian company that operates ferry services from Italy to Sardinia, Croatia and Sicily.
Routes
SNAV operates a large network of routes across the Mediterranean and Adriatic.
*Naples - Palerm ...
.
On 30 December 2005 the ''Pride of Le Havre'' was renamed ''SNAV Sardegna'', but she retained United Kingdom flag for the time being. On 5 January 2006 the ''SNAV Sardegna'' left
Falmouth for
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. On 27 March 2006 she was re-registered in Italy, and in May of the same year she entered service on SNAV's routes from
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
to
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
and
Olbia
Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...
.
2017–Present: ''GNV Cristal''
''SNAV Sardegna'' was renamed ''GNV Cristal'' on February 24, 2017.
Grandi Navi Veloci
Grandi Navi Veloci (''GNV'') is an Italian shipping company, based in Genoa, that operates ferry, ferries between mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, France, Albania, Morocco and Tunisia. It was established by Aldo Grimaldi in 1992.
History
GN ...
and SNAV are both subsidiaries of
MSC Group and merged in 2010.
Sister ships
The ''Olau Britannia'' was the third of four sisters in the Peter Pan class, the others being:
MS ''Peter Pan'' (1986) was the first of the sisters built by
AG Weser Seebeckwerft,
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
for
TT-Line
TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...
. She was sold in 1990 to
TT-line (Tasmania) and in 1993 renamed as the first ''
Spirit of Tasmania
TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, better known by its trading name Spirit of Tasmania is a company which has been operating ferries from mainland Australia to Tasmania since July 1985. The company was separated from the Tasmanian Government's Depart ...
''. She was sold in 2002 to Nordsjøferger and chartered in 2003 to
Fjord Line
Fjord Line is a Norwegian ferry operator offering services between Norway and Denmark; in October 2020 the company announced a scale-back of operations whereby the ferry operations will only serve the ports of Kristiansand, Hirtshals, and St ...
as MS ''Fjord Norway''. In 2006 she was sold to
DFDS Seaways
DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions (DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) in ...
to serve the
IJmuiden
IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. >
IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...
(
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
)–
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
(
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
) route as
MS ''Princess of Norway''. In 2011 she was renamed
MS ''Princess Seaways''.
was the second of the sisters built by
AG Weser Seebeckwerft,
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
for
TT-Line
TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...
. She was sold to
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France and the United Kingdom, Ireland, ...
in 1993 and renamed
MS ''Val de Loire''. In late 2005 she was sold to
DFDS Seaways
DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions (DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) in ...
to serve the
IJmuiden
IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. >
IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...
(
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
)–
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
(
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
) route as
MS ''King of Scandinavia'', subsequently renamed in 2011 as
MS ''King Seaways''.
MS ''Olau Britannia'' (1990) was the fourth of the vessels and built by
Schichau Unterweser
Schichau Seebeckwerft (often abbreviated SSW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.
History
The original company Schichau was founded in 1837 by Fe ...
,
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
for
TT-Line
TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...
's sister company
Olau Line
Olau Line was a shipping company that existed from 1956 to 1994. It operated a ferry service from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands from 1974 until 1994. Originally based in Denmark, the company passed under the ownership of the German TT-Li ...
to a slightly modified design. With her ''Olau'' sister the she was chartered in 1994 to
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O ...
and renamed MS ''Pride of Portsmouth''. In 2005 she stopped operating for P&O and was subsequently sold to
SNAV
SNAV (Società Navigazione Alta Velocità) is an Italian company that operates ferry services from Italy to Sardinia, Croatia and Sicily.
Routes
SNAV operates a large network of routes across the Mediterranean and Adriatic.
*Naples - Palerm ...
in Italy and renamed
MS ''SNAV Lazio''.
The former
MS ''Koningin Beatrix'' (1986), sold in 1989 to
Stena Line
Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...
and renamed in 2002 as , and now SNAV Adriatico, was built by the Dutch shipyard
Van der Giessen de Noord
Van der Giessen de Noord () was a shipyard, shipbuilding company that mainly built ferry, ferries, located in Krimpen aan den IJssel, a town in the western Netherlands. The yard was especially suited to the construction of large Ship, vessels ...
for
SMZ to a similar design, supplied by A.G. Weser.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
Official website of the GNV fleet
{{DEFAULTSORT:GNV Cristal
Cruiseferries
Ferries of the United Kingdom
Ferries of France
Ferries of Italy
Ships built in Bremen (state)
1989 ships
it:Classe Peter Pan