MS ''Wawel'' is a ferry launched in 1979 as the ''Scandinavia''.
She spent a large part of her career serving 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 ...
cross channel ferry route with successive operators. She is currently in service with
Polferries
Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operator.
The Polish Baltic Shipping Company was established on 31 January 1976 as a state-owned shipping company. Under the operating name ''Polferries'', the company runs ferry routes across the Baltic Sea ...
as the ''Wawel''.
Early years
The ''Wawel'' started life as the ''Scandinavia'', ordered by and for
Rederi AB Nordö,
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
for services in the Eastern
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 ...
. She was launched at the
Kockums
Saab Kockums AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab Group. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö, Docksta, and Karlskrona. While having a history of civil vessel construction, Koc ...
Varv AB shipyard in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, Sweden on 1 December 1979
and delivered to
Rederi AB Nordö on 17 March 1980, opening a service between
Koper
Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and
Tartous
)
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Tartus corniche Port of Tartus • Tartus beach and boulevard Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa • Al-Assad Stadium&n ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in April 1980. On 7 June 1980, the ''Scandinavia''s sister ship, capsized on her maiden voyage roughly 2 km away from
Larnaca
Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, this precipitated the end of Rederi's Yugoslavia to Syria service.
In April 1982 the two remaining vessels ''Scandinavia'' and her sister ''Ariadne'' were sold to
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n
So Mejdunaroden Automobile Transport (SOMAT) and the ''Scandinavia'' was renamed ''Tzarevetz''.
Under SOMAT ownership, the ''Tzarevetz'' was operated using the
MedLink brand running trans-
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 ...
services until 1984 when she was chartered back to
Rederi AB to run a service between
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 ...
and
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 ...
. A further charter in 1987 saw her transfer first to the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, and then later in 1988 a brief charter running a service in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
for
DFDS
DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ...
.
In November 1988, both the ''Tzarvetz'' and her sister, which had been renamed ''Trapezitza''
were sold to
Sealink British Ferries
Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland.
Ports served by the company included: Port of Dover, ...
.
Sealink to Stena
Following the purchase by
Sealink British Ferries
Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland.
Ports served by the company included: Port of Dover, ...
she was renamed to ''Fiesta'' and undertook some charter work in Africa. After only a few trips, the ''Fiesta''s crew resigned due to worries over piracy near
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and she was consequently laid up in the
Fal.
Sealink
Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland.
Ports served by the company included: Dover, Folkesto ...
eventually decided to use the two vessels, in a pooling agreement with
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
to provide a joint service running between
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
As a result of this decision, the ''Fiesta'' and her sister, now named ''Fantasia'' were sent to
Lloyd Werft
Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven GmbH is a dockyard in Bremerhaven. It was founded in 1863 by the shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd, first mainly used as a repair workshop for the company’s own merchant fleet. This new yard was established 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 ...
in June 1989 to be converted from freight carriers to passenger carriers.
As part of the pooling agreement, the ''Fantasia'' was to be given to
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
, as a result of this, whilst at Bremerhaven, the two vessels swapped names.
The ''Fantasia'' returned to Dover on 8 March 1990, her owners had in the meantime been 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 ...
. The joint services were renamed initially to
Sealink Stena Line, under the new branding, in October 1990 it was announced that the ''Fantasia'' would become the ''Stena Fantasia''.
In December 1990 she was sent to
A&P Appledore for a major overhaul following maneuverability issues and bow visor problems at Calais on 2 December, returning just after
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
with her new name.
Ongoing maneuverability issues resulted in a starboard hole following her spending 8 hrs pinned against the mooring quay in Dover during bad weather on 8 January 1991. She was sent to
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 ...
for repairs and at the same time her stern was adjusted to make it compatible with the docks at Calais.
The maneuverability issues were not finally fixed until a further refit in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
beginning 6 November 1991
returning to Dover-Calais service in December 1991.
In 1993, the ''Stena Fantasia'' became the first cross-channel ferry to carry a
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
restaurant, having been installed during a refit at Bremerhaven that year.
In July 1995
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
announced their intention to withdraw from the pooling agreement which had been set up in 1989 to operate a new service under the name of
SeaFrance from 1996. As a result of this,
Stena Sealink Line dropped the 'Sealink' to become
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 ...
as of 31 December 1995.
The ''Stena Fantasia'' continued service with
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 transferred on 10 March 1998 to the newly formed joint venture of
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 sam ...
with the merger of
P&O European Ferries
P&O European Ferries (formerly Townsend Thoresen), a division of P&O Ferries, was a ferry company which operated in the English Channel from 1987 after the ''Herald of Free Enterprise'' disaster, when '' Townsend Thoresen'' was renamed ''P&O E ...
and
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 ...
s eastern channel routes.
As a result of this change, and the new companies attempt to merge the two fleets, the P&O Stena 'Brand World' was rolled out across the fleet, this included the renaming of all vessels in the new fleet, ''Stena Fantasia'' consequently became ''P&OSL Canterbury'' during her December 1998 refit.
Under
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 sam ...
''P&OSL Canterbury'' continued 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 ...
route, on 11 August 1999 she was hired out on charter to the
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
to enable passengers to view the
European Solar Eclipse.
This era was not without fault, with further bow door problems in April 2000 and flooding of a machine room in May 2001 causing her to be taken out of service for repairs both times.
In October 2002,
P&O bought Stena Lines' 40% share in
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 sam ...
and the vessel was speedily renamed ''PO Canterbury'', then returning after her winter refit as the ''Pride of Canterbury'' for a short service in Spring 2003.
In mid-May 2003, ''Pride of Canterbury'' was laid up in
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.[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 ...
route.
She was sold to
GA Ferries of
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 October 2003 but did not depart until March 2004.
Post P&O
In March 2004, the new owners
GA Ferries renamed the vessel ''Alkmini A'', operating a service between
Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa ( el, Ηγουμενίτσα, ) is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia.
Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, ...
,
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 ...
and
Brindisi
Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Histo ...
,
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 ...
from June 2004,
this however was not to last and in September 2004 the ''Alkmini A'' was sold to
Polferries
Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operator.
The Polish Baltic Shipping Company was established on 31 January 1976 as a state-owned shipping company. Under the operating name ''Polferries'', the company runs ferry routes across the Baltic Sea ...
and transferred to the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
as the ''Wawel''
operating a route from 15 February 2005
between
Swinoujscie,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Ystad
Ystad (; older da, Ysted) is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
In October 2008 she was chartered to
DFDS
DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ...
to continue this route, both
DFDS
DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. It is the busiest shipping company of its kind in Northern Europe and one of the busiest in Europe. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ...
and
Polferries
Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operator.
The Polish Baltic Shipping Company was established on 31 January 1976 as a state-owned shipping company. Under the operating name ''Polferries'', the company runs ferry routes across the Baltic Sea ...
now operate this route in collaboration.
In 2015 she transferred to the Gdańsk - Nynäshamn route. The vessel, as of 2022, is still in service with Polferries, alongside
Nova Star, a much newer vessel built in 2011 (In service with Polferries since 2018)
Sister ships
The ''Wawel'' had two sister ships:
* - scrapped in Alang India, October 2011.
* - capsized on maiden voyage in June 1980.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wawel
Ferries of the United Kingdom
Ferries of France
Ferries of Greece
Ferries of Italy
Ferries of Poland
Ferries of Sweden
Ships built in Malmö
1979 ships