| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | 1987-1999: Pride of Calais 1999-2002: P&OSL Calais 2002-2003: PO Calais 2003-present: Pride of Calais |
| Owner: | 1987: Townsend Thoresen 1987-2006: P&O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd 2006-present: P&O Ferries Ltd |
| Operator: | P&O Ferries |
| Port of registry: | Dover, United Kingdom |
| Route: | Dover-Calais |
| Builder: | Schichau Unterweser AG, West Germany |
| Yard number: | 94 |
| Launched: | 11 April 1987 |
| Completed: | 27 November 1987 |
| Maiden voyage: | 4 December 1987 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 8517748 |
| Status: | in service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 26,433 tonnes |
| Length: | 169.6 m (556.4 ft) |
| Beam: | 28.27 m (92.7 ft) |
| Draft: | 6.12 m (20.1 ft) |
| Installed power: | 3 x Sulzer ZA40S Diesels |
| Propulsion: | Triple controllable pitch propellers |
| Speed: | 22 knots |
| Capacity: | 2,290 passengers 650 vehicles (1,500 lanemetres) |
MS Pride of Calais is a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries.
MS Pride of Calais was built for Townsend Thoresen in 1987, and launched on the 11th of April of that same year, as the sister ship to the MS Pride of Dover.[1] She can carry 650 cars and 2290 passengers. She has always served on the Dover-Calais route, but during French labour disputes she has sailed to Zeebrugge.
Pride of Calais will leave P&O service in Autumn 2011 to be replaced by MS Spirit of France, which will offer a larger capacity and almost double the amount of tonnage, at 49,000 tonnes, making her and her sister the largest ferries ever to cross the channel.
Pride of Calais is the sister ship of the retired MS Pride of Dover. Both were built for Townsend Thoresen, which was rebranded under the name of its parent company (P&O) in 1987, following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.