MS ''Clipper Ranger'' is a freight ferry built in 1998, which was in service with Seatruck Ferries on the Heysham–

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 Kingd ...

route until the latter half of 2012. In September 2013, she was chartered to

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

for the freight service between

Ullapool Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. It is located around northwest of Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, ...

and

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 ...

History

MS ''Lembitu'' was built by Astilleros de Huelva and launched in 1998 for the Estonian Shipping Co.,

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 '' ...

. She was named after

Lembitu of Lehola Lembitu (Estonian also: Lembit, died 21 September 1217) was an ancient Estonian senior (elder) from Sakala County and military leader in the struggle against conquest of the Estonian lands by the German Livonian Brothers of the Sword at the ...

, a 12th-century Estonian leader. On 20 April 1998 she was chartered by P&O European Ferries for use in 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 ...

. On 2 September 1998 she was chartered by Dart Line for use on the

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 ...

–

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

route and renamed ''Dart 7'' in January 1999. On 15 September 1999 she was chartered by International Atlantic Line for use on the

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

–

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

route and renamed ''Lembitu'' once again. In November 1999 she was chartered by Unknown Operator for use between

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

and North Africa. In March 2000 she was chartered by P&O Irish Sea Freight for use on the

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

–

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

route, and renamed ''Celtic Sun''. In October 2001 the charter ended and she reverted to the name ''Lembitu'' once again, being chartered by Norse Merchant Ferries for use on the Heysham–

route. In December 2001 she returned to Estonian Shipping Co., and was put into service on the

–

Helsingfors Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city's ...

–

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

route. She was then in service with Scandlines on the same route. In January 2005, she was chartered by Channel Freight Ferries for use on the

– Radicatel route. In March 2005 she was chartered by Norse Merchant Ferries for use on the

– Heysham route. In April 2005 she was sold to Elmira Shipping of

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 Sar ...

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 wit ...

and in the same month was registered under the Maltese flag for Challenge Shipping Ltd.,

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

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 ...

, being renamed ''RR Challenge'' at the same time. In 2005 she was chartered by Seatruck Ferries for use on the Heysham– Warrenpoint route. She was sold to Attica Enterprise of Piraeus in September 2005 and purchased by Seatruck on 1 October 2005, being renamed ''Challenge'' at the same time. She was registered to Challenge Shipping Co. Ltd on behalf of Clipper Denmark A/S on 13 February 2008. ''Challenge'' was renamed ''Clipper Ranger'' in 2008 and was subsequently put on the Heysham–

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

route. In April 2012, Seatruck announced that the Heysham–

service would be closed, and on 7 May 2012, ''Clipper Ranger'' made her last departure from

, and was placed onto Seatruck's new Heysham–

route. ''Clipper Ranger'' was withdrawn from service and laid up in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; Historic counties of England, historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the R ...

for the latter half of 2012 and remained alongside in January 2013. It was announced on Wednesday 13 March 2013 that ''Clipper Ranger'' was being chartered by P&O Ferries on the

route from Monday 25 March 2013. On 10 September 2013, it was announced that ''Clipper Ranger'' was to replace on the freight ferry run from

. She is chartered to operate the service until August 2014, when the new will take over the Lewis service, replacing both and ''Clipper Ranger''. After undertaking berthing trials at both Stornoway and Ullapool on 19 September, she began her charter on 21 September. On 28 January 2014, ''Clipper Ranger'' collided with a pier at Stornoway, causing damage to the ship's hull.

Sister vessels

*, built as ''Varbola''. *, built as ''Lehola''. *, built as ''Leili''.

References

External links

Photos
of the ship under various names. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clipper Ranger Ships of Seatruck Ferries Caledonian MacBrayne Ferries of the United Kingdom Merchant ships of Malta 1998 ships