MV ''Free Enterprise'' III was a

Ro-Pax 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 using ...

vessel built in 1966 as a cross-channel ferry, operated by Townsend Thoresen mainly on the

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 ...

and

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 ...

routes from

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 ...

. She was sold to Egyptian owners in 1986 and wrecked in the Red Sea in 2004.

History

Townsend Brothers

''Free Enterprise'' III was built in 1966 by I.C.H. Holland, Werf Gusto Yard,

Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...

, Netherlands, for Townsend Brothers Ferries. In 1968, the company became

European Ferries European Ferries Group plc was a company that operated in passenger and freight ferries, harbour operation and property management in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was taken over by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com ...

, continuing to operate services as Townsend Thoresen.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

In 1984, ''Free Enterprise'' III was sold to Maltese owners, Mira Shipping Line, Valletta, and renamed ''Tamira''. She returned to UK waters later the same year when she was purchased by 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 ...

. Renamed ''Mona's Isle'', the sixth vessel in the company's history to bear the name, she entered service following alterations which saw additional accommodation added. Her service life saw her plying on the company's main

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

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

schedule with her service commencing in April 1985. However her short-comings were quickly identified. Numerous problems persisted, not least in docking the vessel which required the services of the

Laxey Towing Company The Laxey Towing Company Ltd is a privately owned marine salvage company incorporated in the Isle of Man. Its registered office is Clovenstones Cottage, Baldrine, with its company offices situated at 30, North Quay, Douglas, Isle of Man. The co ...

. Her time in Steam Packet service was brief and the ''Mona's Isle'' was laid up in October 1985.

Sadaka Shipping

She was sold again in April 1986, to Egyptian owners, Sadaka Shipping, who renamed her ''Al Fahad''. She served in Saudi Arabia for another twelve years. Suffering engine problems in June 2004, she anchored in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and was subsequently abandoned as a wreck 35 km south of

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

. The wreck has subsequently become popular as a scuba dive site with the remains of the ship within 200 metres of the shoreline.

Service

''Free Enterprise'' III operated on the

service, adding Dover-

from 1967. During the summer of 1974, she spent time on the

Cairnryan Cairnryan ( sco, The Cairn;
gd, Machair an Sgithich) is a vi ...

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

route. In summer 1981, ''Free Enterprise'' III operated between

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

''Free Enterprise'' III shipwreck
on Wikimapia {{DEFAULTSORT:Free Enterprise 1966 Ferries of the Isle of Man 1966 ships Ships built in Schiedam Shipwrecks in the Red Sea