The MS ''Bari'' was a ferry built in 1980 as the ''St Anselm'' for Sealink. Starting life on the

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, she operated with

Ventouris Ferries Ventouris Ferries is a Greek company that operates ferry services from Italy to Greece and Albania. Routes Ventouris Ferries operates three routes across the Adriatic Sea. * Bari - Durres (Rigel II & Rigel III & Rigel VII) * Bari - Corfu - Ig ...

in her last routes in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Sealink

''MS Bari'' started life as the ''St Anselm'', order by and for Sealink services in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. She was launched at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in

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 Kingdo ...

on 5 December 1979 and completed her maiden voyage on 27 October 1980. After two years in service, on 31 December 1982, the ''St Anselm'' returned to

for a £750,000 extension to her aft decks. This extension provided an enlarged duty-free shopping area and additional accommodation, increasing her tonnage by to and her passenger capacity to 1,400. On 28 March 1983 during her trip back to

through the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, the ''St Anselm'' was temporarily brought into service on the Fishguard- Rosslare route following the failure of s engines. In 1990, the ''St Anselm'' was displaced from the

route by Sealinks acquisition of the ''Fantasia'', the ''St Anselm'' instead took up a service operating between

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

and

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

. Not long after this transition, Sealink was acquired by

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 ...

, in 1991 the ''St Anselm'' was transferred to

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

, being renamed the ''Stena Cambria'' as a refit relief during February and March, briefly returning to

before resuming service in the

in July that same year.

Stena Line

In July 1995, SNAT announced they would be terminating the pooling agreement that had been in place with Stena Sealink Line, which as a result, dropped the "Sealink" name, becoming just

. As a result of the loss of the two

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

vessels,

transferred the ''Stena Cambria'' and the ''Stena Empereur'' back to the

route for the 1996 season. In March 1997 she provided refit relief in

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...

and on 3 May 1997 became the last conventional ferry to sail out of Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead having provided overhaul relief for the . In March 1998 she transferred to the Newhaven- Dieppe route under the newly formed

P&O Stena Line P&O Stena Line was formed in 1998 after the merger of P&O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd and the Dover and Newhaven operations of Stena Line. History The idea for a joint service was initially put forward in July 1996 and in October of the same ...

, staying there until the routes withdrawal in January 1999.

Post P&O Stena Line

Following the routes withdrawal in January 1999, the ''Stena Cambria'' was laid up in Zeebrugge awaiting sale, eventually being purchased by UMAFISA, entering service for them between

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

that November as the ''Isla de Botafoc''. In August 2003, UMAFISA and the ''Isla de Botafoc'' were acquired by rivals, Balearia. She continued services with Balearia to

and

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

until her eventual sale to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

in 2010, briefly being renamed ''Winner 9'' and then to the ''Bari''.

Sister ships

''MS Bari'' has three sister ships; * * *

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bari, MS Ferries of Italy 1979 ships Ships built in Belfast Ships built by Harland and Wolff