M/S Peter Wessel
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M/S Peter Wessel is a cruiseferry owned by Norwegian operator Color Line, sailing on the route Larvik - Hirtshals. The ship was built as M/S Gotland in 1981 by Öresundsvarvet AB for Rederi AB Gotland but she was delivered as M/S Wasa Star to Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna.
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[edit] History
[edit] Vaasanlaivat and Karageorgios Line
In the late 1970's Rederi AB Gotland ordered a pair of large, new, state-of-the-art ferries from Öresundsvarvet AB, Landskrona, Sweden which were to be calable of carrying over 2000 passengers. However, there were not actually enough passengers on the routes from Gotland to the Swedish mainland to support two such large ferries. The second ship, originally to be called M/S Gotland, was delivered on 24 June 1981 to Rederi Ab Gotland, but chartered the next day to Vaasanlaivat / Vasabåtarna, Finland and officially named M/S Wasa Star. On 1 July the brand new Wasa Star started traffic on the route connecting Vaasa in Finland to Sundsvall in Sweden. At the time she was by far the largest ferry to have ever sailed across Kvarken. In February 1982 the ship was moved to the Vaasa - Umeå route. On 14 February the ship was grounded near Holmsund. She soon came loose but her tanks were damaged, and the ship sailed to Helsinki for repairs. Unfortunately the shipyard did not a have a free drydock for the repairs, and on on 16 February the Wasa Star continued from Helsinki to HDW, Kiel, Germany where she was finally repaired.
On 1 April the Wasa Star returned to the Vaasa - Sundsvall route. She was not very profitable however, and on 31 August 1982 she was taken out of traffic and laid up in Sundsvall. There she remained until May 1983, when Vaasanlaivat sub-chartered her to Karageorgios Line, Greece and she left Sundsvall for Valletta, Malta where she was docked in preparation for her new service. In June she started trafficking on a route connecting Patras, Greece to Ancona, Italy with one weekly trip from Ancona to Igoumenitsa, Greece. However, due to a payment dispute between Vaasanlaivat and Karageorgios Line Wasa Star's service in the Mediterranean remained shot, and she sailed to Landskrona, Sweden to be laid up.
[edit] Larvik Line
On 29 August 1983, after the various conflicting charter agreements were resolved, the Wasa Star was sold to the Norwegian operator A/S Larvik-Fredrikshavnferjen (aka Larvik Line). She left Landskrona on 13 January 1984. In March of the same year she was renamed M/S Peter Wessel, after Peter Wessel Tordenskiold and started operating on the Larvik–Frederikshavn route.
M/S Peter Wessel was extended by 22,5 meters at Blohm + Voss, Hamburg, Germany in 1988. Additional cabins were also built on the top of the ship. In 1990, the ship was transferred to Vard A/S (Larvik Line A/S), but continued to operate on the same route.
[edit] Color Line
In October 1996 Color Line acquired Larvik Line, and M/S Peter Wessel became a part of Color Line's fleet. She was kept in the same traffic as before. In 1999 parts of the cardeck were built in with cabins, decreasing her car capacity. In spring 2003 the ship was rebuilt again, this time at Remontowa, Poland with large (and rather unattractive) side sponsons for increased stabity.
In April 2006 the ship was transferred to the Larvik - Hirtshals route. It seems likely that when the second new Color Superspeed ferry is delivered in April 2008, it will replace the Peter Wessel on her current route. The Peter Wessel's future in Color Line's fleet after that remains uncertain.
[edit] Onboard
[edit] Restaurants and cafés
- Admiralen à la carte
- Kommandøren Buffet Restaurant
- Skagerak
- Café Boulevarden
- Silent Lounge
[edit] Activities
- Color Land
- Cinema
[edit] Bars, Nightclubs and entertainment
- Dynekilen Bar
- Neptun Pianobar
- Skagerak
[edit] Shopping
- Taxfree Supermarked
- Color Shop
- Perfume Shop
[edit] Conference
- Color Conference Center
[edit] Main particulars
As of the 2003 refit.
- Built: 1981 (Öresundsvarvet AB, Landskrona, Sweden)
- Length over all: 168.5 m
- Width: 5.8 m
- Tonnage, estimate GT: 29704
- Register: NOR
- Class: Det Norske Veritas
- Max Speed: 19 knots
- Machines: 31200 HK
- Passengers: 1786
- Cabins: 508
- Cars: 562
- Trailers, lanemeter: 750lm
- Home Port: Larvik
- Sister ship: M/S Scandinavia (Polferries)
[edit] References
- Gotland - Wasa Star - Peter Wessel
- Faktaomfartyg.com (Swedish ship register)
[edit] External links
- Color Line (Company website)
