HSC Normandie Express
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| Operator | Brittany Ferries |
| Built | 2000 |
| Flag | France |
| Port of registry | Caen |
| Previous names | The Lynx (2000-2003) |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 97.22 metres |
| Beam | 26.6 metres |
| Gross Tonnage | 6,581 tonnes |
| Speed | 42 knots |
| Engines | Ruston Paxman |
| Passengers | 900 |
| Vehicles | 260 cars |
| Crew | |
The HSC Normandie Express is a fast catamaran ferry owned by Incat and operated by Brittany Ferries on charter. It was built as Incat Tazmania at the Incat yards in Tasmania, Australia. Her first use was on charter to the Australian Trade Commission as a floating conference centre during the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney. Later that year she was chartered to Tranz Rail for their Interisland Line service between Picton and Wellington, New Zealand. She was renamed The Lynx for this service and remained on the route until 2003 when she was returned to Incat. In September 2004 P&O Ferries announced they were to withdraw their services from Portsmouth to France, Brittany Ferries later announced they would run a fastcraft service between Portsmouth and Cherbourg/Caen (Ouistreham) as a replacement and The Lynx was chartered. In January 2005 she was renamed Normandie Express and sailed for France, stopping off in Indonesia to drop of supllies and equipment for the tsunami relief effort. Also onboard for the trip to Europe was the French yacht Sill et Veolia which was being returned to France after being damaged on the Vendee Globe Yacht Race. After calling in at Roscoff to drop off the yacht and be shown off to Brittany Ferries management she undertook berthing trials in Portsmouth, Cherbourg and Ouistreham before starting service in March 2005.
For her first year in service with Brittany Ferries the Normandie Express had a bridge and engine room crew supplied by Northern Marine and was registered in Nassau but protests from French unions meant that for 2006 she would fly the French flag and be registered in Caen with a full French crew.
Normandie Express is currently the largest high speed catamaran operating on the English Channel.
[edit] Regular Routes
Normandie Express operates on two routes normally from late March to mid November. She spends the rest of year laid up.
- Portsmouth-Cherbourg
- Portsmouth-Caen (Ouistreham) (Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings only)
[edit] Onboard facilities
Bars and Restaurants
- Le Café.
- Le Bar x2.
Shop
- La Boutique.
The vessel was fitted with a Club lounge and children's play area but these were removed during the refit for Brittany Ferries in favour of more standard seats. Condor Vitesse which operates for Brittany Ferries between Poole and Cherbourg has these facilities.
