MS ''Arrow'' is a Ro-Ro

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

built by Astilleros de Huelva SA, Huelva,

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 ...

in 1998 as ''Varbola'' for the Estonian Shipping Company,

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. During a charter to Dart Line she was renamed ''Dart 6'', reverting to ''Varbola'' when the charter ended. In 2005, she was sold to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and renamed ''RR Arrow''. In 2007, she was sold to

Seatruck Ferries Seatruck Ferries is a UK-based freight-only ferry company which commenced services in 1996. It is a subsidiary of CLdN. It operates out of four ports on the Irish Sea, including Heysham and Liverpool. History Seatruck was established in 1996 ...

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 ...

and renamed ''Arrow''. In September 2022, it was revealed that she had been bought by Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for an estimated €9 million.

Description

''Arrow'' is a RO-RO ferry, a sister ship to , and . She is long, with a beam of and a draught of . She has a total of lane capacity, which means she can carry 88 trailers, with provision for 12 passengers. She is powered by two

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...

9R32

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s, which produce a total of , giving her a speed of .

History

''Varbola'' was built by Astilleros de Huelva, Huelva,

as yard number 571. She was built for Estonian Shipping Company, Tallinn. On 26 August 1998, she was chartered to Dart Line,

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

for use on the Dartford–

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

route. ''Varbola'' was renamed ''Dart 6'' in January 1999. In September 1999, the charter ended and she reverted to ''Varbola''. In October 1999, she was chartered to Merchant Ferries for use on the

–

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

route. In January 2003, ''Varbola'' was chartered to Dart Line for use on the Dartford–Vlissingen and Dartfort–

Dunquerque Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Norse Merchant Ferries Norse Merchant Ferries was an Irish Sea ferry company that operating passenger and freight RORO services between England the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. History Norse Merchant Ferries was created in October 1999 when Cenargo, ...

for use on the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

–

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 ...

route, transferring to the Heysham–Dublin route in April 2004. On 18 July 2005, ''Varbola'' was sold to Elmira Shipping & Trading,

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

and renamed ''RR Arrow''. She was reflagged to

. On 23 December 2005, she was chartered to Condor Ferries for use 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 ...

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

. The charter ended on 14 January 2006, following which she entered service with

Norfolk Line Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the English channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea; and passenger ferry services on the English channel and Irish Sea; and lo ...

. On 30 October 2007, she was sold to

for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

15,000,000. The ship was renamed ''Arrow'' in November. Following further service with Norfolk Line she was laid up at Liverpool in May 2009. ''Arrow'' re-entered service with Seatruck on 20 October 2009 on the Heysham–Dublin route. In May 2012 and 2013, ''Arrow'' was chartered to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for the Isle of Man TT. In October 2013, the Steam Packet Company confirmed a three-year charter which commenced on 28 April 2014 with a purchase option. During the summer of 2014, while not required in Steam Packet Company service, the vessel was temporarily sub-chartered to operate between Jersey (Channel Islands) and Portsmouth (England). She resumed services in the Irish Sea in the winter. In April 2015, ''Arrow'' was called in to cover freight traffic as the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company fast craft was out of service for nearly a week and was required to carry as many passengers as possible. On 18 March 2016, ''Arrow'' was called in to cover freight services to the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

for Condor Ferries as the regular vessel, ''Commodore Clipper'', was covering routes while underwent repairs. On 25 June 2020, while under subcharter to NorthLink Ferries, ''Arrow'' ran aground at the entrance to

Aberdeen Harbour Aberdeen Harbour, rebranded as the Port of Aberdeen in 2022, is a sea port located in the city of Aberdeen on the east coast of Scotland. The port was first established in 1136 and has been continually redeveloped over the centuries to provide ...

. She was freed by harbour tugs and continued to the quayside. From 19 July 2021, she was chartered by Caledonian MacBrayne to carry freight on the busy

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...

to Ullapool route, freeing to make additional passenger crossings. On 23 July 2021, damage caused by a rope getting wrapped in the ship’s propeller resulted in the vessel being withdrawn from service. On 25 July 2021, she went to Belfast for repairs, arriving there on 27 July. Repairs were completed on 2 August and she returned to service from Stornoway on the evening of 3 August. The charter is due to end on 7 September. In December 2021, due to thick fog at Heysham causing several cancelled sailings for the Isle of Man Steam Packet in the week before Christmas, ''Arrow'' was brought in to help clear the backlog of freight, which allowed ''Ben-my-Chree'' to carry her full complement of passengers. From 17 January to end of March 2023, ''Arrow'' was chartered by Caledonian MacBrayne to assist carrying freight on the busy

to Ullapool route during the closure of Uig port. She was used only four times (18 February, 8, 15 and 16 March) when freight sailings were cancelled due to the weather conditions and to substitute her when there was significant traffic.

References

External links

Current position of ''Arrow''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrow 1998 ships Ships of Seatruck Ferries Ships built in Spain Ferries of Estonia Merchant ships of Malta Merchant ships of the Isle of Man Maritime incidents in 2020