MV ''Nova Star'' 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 ...

cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...

, currently operating between Poland and Scandinavia under the ownership of

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 ...

Construction and service history

The vessel was built by

ST Marine Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, doing business as ST Engineering, is a Singaporean multinational technology and engineering group in the aerospace, smart city as well as defence and public security sectors. Headquartered in Singapore, ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

for

LD Lines LD Lines was a French shipping company, with both roro freight and passenger ferry operations. It was a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), which engages in building, owning, operating, and managing vessels. LD Lines operated ferry ...

, which signed a $179 million contract for the vessel in 2007. She was intended to operate 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 ...

, but her contract was canceled in 2011 before she could take her maiden voyage to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Initially named ''Norman Leader'', the vessel remained under the ownership of her builder, ST Marine, until being acquired by

Nova Star Cruises Nova Star Cruises Limited, referred to simply as Nova Star Cruises, was a ferry company operating in Nova Scotia and Maine. Their ship, MV ''Nova Star'', was a Ropax cruiseferry operating seasonally on the Gulf of Maine between Portland, Maine a ...

in 2014 and renamed MV ''Nova Star'' for the

Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...

service. She ran seasonal operations between

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and Yarmouth,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

under Nova Star Cruises for two seasons. Following the decision not to renew Nova Star Cruises' license to operate the service at the end of the 2015 season, Nova Star Cruises subsequently closed and Gulf of Maine operations were taken over by

Bay Ferries Bay Ferries Limited, or simply, Bay Ferries, is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and is headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries Limited and a sister company to the defu ...

, which has previously operated ferries in the region prior to Nova Star Cruises. Once her Gulf of Maine service ended, ''Nova Star'' was purchased by the Moroccan company Inter Shipping. Following her arrival in

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

in February 2016, it was made apparent that ''Nova Stars bow ramp was too short to operate the service, therefore delaying her entry into service. She eventually began operating between

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

under the ownership and operation of Inter Shipping. She ran this route until 2018, when she was then purchased by

, who currently operate her on the route between

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

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

Vessel details

''Nova Star'' is an average-sized cruiseferry. Its dimensions are length by width. The vessel is capable of a top speed of , and weighs roughly 27,450 GT. The ship features a large variety of cruise-ship like features, including two restaurants, three bars, a casino gaming facility, and a duty-free retail shop. The ship also includes a children play area, live on-board entertainment, a spa and art gallery. The vessel has 163 cabins and a capacity of 1,215 passengers. She can carry 336 car-equivalents and/or 38 commercial vehicles (semi-trailer rigs or buses) and commensurately fewer cars.

References

External links

Nova Star Cruises
(official website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Star Cruiseferries Ferries of Maine Ferries of Nova Scotia 2009 ships Ships built in Singapore