The ''Pascal Paoli'' is a

RoPax Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usi ...

ferry owned and operated by SNCM. She was the last ferry built by the

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 ...

yard. On January 5, 2016, Pascal Paoli was transferred to the Maritime Corse Méditerranée, a new entity succeeding SNCM following its takeover by the Corsican businessman Patrick Rocca. On February 3, after a technical stop at the Tunisian yards of

Menzel Bourguiba Menzel Bourguiba ( ar, منزل بورقيبة, Manzil Būrgībah, lit=House of Bourguiba), formerly known as Ferryville, is a town located in the extreme north of Tunisia, about from Tunis, in the Bizerte Governorate. Toponymy The town's na ...

, the ship arrived in Marseilles without any commercial markings. At the end of May 2016, the ship received the red livery of Corsica Linea, the trademark of the Corsican consortium Corsica Maritima which merged with the MCM. The ship departed Marseille for Bastia on May 25, 2016, for its first voyage under its new colors.

Name

The ship is named after Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807), a Corsican patriot, statesman and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later French rule in Corsica. He became the president of the Executive Council of the General Diet of the People of Corsica, and also designed and wrote the Constitution of the state.

Routes

The ''Pascal Paoli'' operates between

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

on the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. The 220 nautical mile overnight trip takes 12 hours.

Boarding by GIGN

On September 27, 2005, during the social unrest following the decision to privatize SNCM that owned and operated the ship, striking sailors of the Corsican Workers' Trade Union occupied the ''Pascal Paoli'', docked at the seawall off the port of Marseille, with the plan to move the ship to Bastia. The commander was instructed to steer the ship to Corsica. After departure, ''Pascal Paoli'' was approached by military helicopters. The ship arrived in the vicinity of Bastia around 11 pm but did not approach, as the striking sailors wished, and spent the night a few cable lengths from port. In the early hours of September 28, after authorities had taken a decision overnight, members of the

Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

and

GIGN The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (suc ...

commando, with five helicopters, took possession of the ship. The striking sailors did not resist, and the soldiers gained control of the ship. Under Navy escort, the ship was directed towards Toulon, where it docked in the enclosure of the naval base. The ship remained there until October 13, when it departed for Marseille in the evening.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal Paoli Ferries of France 2002 ships Ships built in the Netherlands