The ''Phocine'' is a ferry owned by Dart 3 Ltd and currently in service with Seatruck Ferries.

History

''Phocine'' was completed in 1984 as ''Balder Sten'', owned by K/S A/S Balder RO/RO No 2. She was sold to Navrom and renamed ''Bazias 3'' in 1985 and operated by them until 1991 when she was chartered to

Sally Line Sally Line UK (sometimes referred to as Sally Ferries UK) was a British ferry operator on the English Channel and North Sea. History Sally Line was founded in 1981 by Michael Kingshott as a subsidiary of the Finland-based Rederi Ab Sally, and ...

, being renamed ''Sally Euroroute'' in 1993 and used on the Ramsgate–

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

route. In 1996 she was sold to Jacobs Holdings (Dart Line) who used her on the Dartford–

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

and Dartford–

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-Zee ...

routes, renamed ''Merle'' and chartered to Belfast Freight Ferries until 2000, when she was renamed ''Dart 3'' and operated by Dart Line. At some point she was sold to Bid Corp Shipping. She was chartered to Norse Merchant Ferries in 2000 and used on the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

–

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal town in Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. Demography Administratively, Heysham is part of th ...

route, returning to Dart Line in 2001. As well as her former routes with Dart Line, she was also used on the Dartford– Dunquerque route. In 2006 she was sold to Dart 3 Ltd and renamed ''Phocine'' on charter to Cobelfret Ferries, being used on the

North Killingholme Haven North Killingholme Haven is a water outlet on the south bank of the Humber Estuary in the civil parish of North Killingholme, to the north-west of the Port of Immingham. The area was used at the beginning of the 20th century for clay extraction ...

–Zeebrugge route. In 2007 she was on charter to the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

, returning to Cobelfret later in the year being used on the Ostend–

Purfleet Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lon ...

and Killingholme–Ostend routes. In 2008 she was chartered by Seatruck Ferries to replace ''Riverdance'', ''Phocine'' was herself due to be replaced by ''Clipper Point'' when that vessel entered service with Seatruck.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phocine Ships of Seatruck Ferries Ferries of the United Kingdom Ferries of England Merchant ships of the Bahamas 1984 ships