Townsend Thoresen
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Townsend Thoresen was a ferry operator based in the United Kingdom formed by the merger of Townsend Brothers Ferries with Thoresen Car Ferries in 1968. It was renamed P&O European Ferries in 1987.
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[edit] Pre merger companies
[edit] Townsend Brothers Ferries
Townsend Brothers Ferries was set up in 1928 to transport cars between Dover and Calais. Their first purpose-built roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry entered service in 1962. She was named Free Enterprise, celebrating Townsend's private-sector status, in competition with the government-run services of British Railways and SNCF on the Dover-Calais route.
Subsequent vessels entered service in 1965 (Free Enterprise II) and 1966 (Free Enterprise III). With their increased fleet size Townsend began a service from Dover to Zeebrugge from 1966.
[edit] Thoresen Car Ferries
Thoresen Car Ferries began operation in 1964, with routes from Southampton to Cherbourg and Le Havre. The company was set up by the Norwegian Otto Thoresen, and the names of their original vessels Viking I and Viking II, and the subsequent Viking III and Viking IV, reflected the company's Scandinavian origins.
[edit] Townsend Thoresen
The two companies merged in 1968, forming Townsend Thoresen. In turn, Townsend Thoresen Car Ferry Company was a part of the European Ferries Group (EFG). EFG's primary concern was in passenger shipping, however they owned considerable amounts of land in the USA and the Spanish Resort La Manga at the time of the P&O Purchase. The EFG company naming would be continued into the takeover by P&O in 1986, when the name TT was dropped in favour of P&O European Ferries, post Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.
[edit] Acquisition of Atlantic Steam Navigation Company
In 1974 Townsend Thoresen acquired Atlantic Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. which traded under the name Transport Ferry Service. Atlantic Steam operated a North Sea service out of Felixstowe and a service to Northern Ireland from Cairnryan. After their acquisition their ships carried Townsend Thoresen livery. Their ships' names carried the suffix "ferry", as in Europic Ferry, Doric Ferry, Baltic Ferry and Nordic Ferry.
[edit] Routes
The company's routes were concentrated in four areas: the Strait of Dover, the western English Channel, the southern North Sea and between Scotland and Northern Ireland. On the Strait of Dover, there were routes from Dover to Calais, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Zeebrugge; these were former Townsend routes. Then there were the former Thoresen routes on the Western Channel, from Southampton to Le Havre and Cherbourg; the UK port for these services was moved to Portsmouth in the mid-1980s. On the North Sea, there was a passenger route from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge and a freight service from Felixstowe to Rotterdam (Europort). Finally, there was the route between Cairnryan, Scotland and Larne, Northern Ireland.
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[edit] Passenger fleet
[edit] Former Thoresen Car Ferries ships
| Name | Period of service |
|---|---|
| Viking I (was later renamed as Viking Victory) | 1964 - 1974 |
| Viking II | 1964 - 1984 |
| Viking III | 1965 - 1982 |
| Viking IV | 1967 - 1981 |
[edit] Former Townsend Brothers Ferries ships
| Name | Period of service |
|---|---|
| Free Enterprise I | 1962 - 1980 |
| Free Enterprise II | 1965 - 1982 |
| Free Enterprise III | 1966 - 1984 |
[edit] Ships which came in service after the merger
| Name | Period of service |
|---|---|
| Free Enterprise IV | 1969 - 1987 |
| Free Enterprise V | 1970 - 1987 |
| Free Enterprise VI | 1972 - 1987 |
| Free Enterprise VII | 1973 - 1987 |
| Free Enterprise VIII | 1974 - 1987 |
| Viking Venturer | 1975 - 1987 |
| Viking Valiant | 1975 - 1987 |
| Viking Voyager | 1976 - 1987 |
| Viking Viscount | 1976 - 1987 |
| Viking Victory (former Viking I) | 1976 - 1987 |
| Spirit of Free Enterprise | 1979 - 1987 |
| Herald of Free Enterprise | 1980 - 1987 |
| Pride of Free Enterprise | 1980 - 1987 |
| Tiger | 1985 - 1986 |
Townsend Thoresen also ordered two new vessels which entered service in 1987 as the Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais; these arrived after the P&O takeover.
[edit] Jumboisation
In 1985 and 1986 four ships were rebuilt in a jumboisation project in order to increase their capacity. The 'Free Enterprise VI' and the 'Free Enterprise VII' were the ships of the Dover - Zeebrugge route which were rebuilt. The 'Viking Venturer' and the 'Viking Valiant' were the ships of the Portsmouth - Le Havre route which were rebuilt. The new ships design came along with many negative reactions. Many people thought the ships looked absolutely hideous.[citation needed] The fact is though, that the company made a lot of extra money with their increased capacity.
[edit] Liveries
Townsend Thoresen had quite a few different liveries in the company's history. The old Townsend Brothers Ferries ships had remained in their old livery, a greenish blue with white combination, while the old Thoresen Car Ferries ships had remained in their old brownish orange with white livery, until 1974. From 1974 to 1976 the company used a greenish blue in combination with white for almost the entire fleet. The brownish orange livery is probably the most commonly known livery, as it was introduced to the company's entire fleet in 1976.
[edit] Trivia
- The Free Enterprise 1 was used in the 1969 original version of The Italian Job (around 40' into the film)
- In 1982, the Townsend Thoresen vessels Europic Ferry, Nordic Ferry and Baltic Ferry were requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence to assist with the Falklands Campaign.
[edit] Acquired by P&O
The company was acquired by P&O in 1986. Following the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise outside Zeebrugge in 1987, which saw the Townsend Thoresen logo broadcast around the world on the side of the capsized ship, the name of the company was changed to P&O European Ferries later that year.
