MS ''GNV Aries'' was built as MS ''Norsea'' for
North Sea Ferries
North Sea Ferries was a ferry company which operated between 1965 and 1996 when it was merged into P&O Operations (P&O North Sea Ferries), it had routes from Hull to Rotterdam (Europort) and Zeebrugge. P&O North Sea Ferries was then merged wi ...
as part of their response to the need for larger vessels in the mid to late 1980s. The 1974 ships and were proving to be very popular, and were running at capacity. Therefore, North Sea Ferries designed their "3rd Generation" overnight ferry. The two parent companies within North Sea Ferries placed their orders in two separate locations.
P&O placed its at
Govan Shipbuilders
Govan Shipbuilders Ltd (GSL) was a British shipbuilding company based on the River Clyde at Glasgow in Scotland. It operated the former Fairfield Shipyard and took its name from the Govan area in which it was located.
History
The company wa ...
on the
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
, and Nedlloyd placed their order with
NKK in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japan.
''Norsea'' entered service on the
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
-
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
route. She was the largest passenger ship to be built on the Clyde since . It was also the last large passenger ship to be built in the United Kingdom. In May 2001, now owned and operated by
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 ...
ordered and . Once relieved of service on the Hull-Rotterdam route, the ship was sent off for two months major refurbishment and branding realignment, prior to entering service on the Hull-
Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...
route, and replacing the 27-year-old MS ''Norland'' in the new P&O colours.
The ship's name was also changed from ''Norsea'' to ''Pride of York'', to bring the names in line with the rest of the P&O Ferries fleet.
In October 2020, P&O announced that the sister ships, and ''Pride of York'' and ''
Pride of Bruges'' to be withdrawn due to the decline in traffic caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The final service from Hull left on 9 December 2020.
In 2021, both were sold to
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 ...
with ''Pride of York'' being renamed ''GNV Aries''.
[Former North Sea pair sold to Italy '']Ships Monthly
Kelsey Media is a magazine publisher and trade fair company based in Yalding, England. Founded in 1989, it has bought and sold many publications over the years, including former Bauer Media Group magazines ''Sea Angler'', ''Car Mechanics'' and '' ...
'' June 2021 page 10
Accidents and incidents
* On 5 February 1992, the lifeboat launching equipment at No 3 lifeboat station suffered a catastrophic failure during operational tests. The damage was very serious, to both the lifeboat and the vessel itself. The lifeboat then fell onto the dockside, where two of the four men on board the lifeboat were killed. The ship was under the operation of
North Sea Ferries
North Sea Ferries was a ferry company which operated between 1965 and 1996 when it was merged into P&O Operations (P&O North Sea Ferries), it had routes from Hull to Rotterdam (Europort) and Zeebrugge. P&O North Sea Ferries was then merged wi ...
at the time of the accident.
* On 14 August 2002, ''Norsea'' had a fire in the forward engine room. This was caused by ignition of thermal heating oil, which leaked during repairs.
* On 2 September 2002, her aft engine room suffered a fire whilst on passage from Hull-Zeebrugge. She was about 7 miles off the
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
n coast. The necessary steps were taken to extinguish the fire and no passengers were injured. However the third engineer was affected by smoke inhalation. The fire was caused by the failure of a low pressure fuel pipe on the main diesel generator. There were no connections between the two fires.
* On 17 March 2014 the ferry suffered a gash caused by metal protruding from the lock gate at
King George Dock. It meant that the ferry did not depart until 6am the next day, resulting in 168 passengers walking off and cancelling their trip. P&O Ferries spokesman Brian Reese said: "We want all our passengers to get away on their trip in good time, unfortunately this isn't always possible. People worked very hard through the night to get the ship away in the morning. In transport, we get technical glitches from time to time but, everyone did their best in the circumstances." More than 230 passengers stayed on board, many of whom are thought to have been long-distance lorry drivers.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:GNV Aries
Ferries of Belgium
Ferries of the United Kingdom
1986 ships
Ships of P&O Ferries
Ships built on the River Clyde
Ships built in Govan