| Predecessor | Townsend Car Ferries Ltd (1959) Thoresen Car Ferries Ltd (1968) Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Ltd (1971) Larne Harbour Ltd (1973) Felixstowe Dock & Railway Company (1976) |
|---|---|
| Successor | P&O European Ferries |
| Founded | 1935 (as Monument Securities Ltd) |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Dover, UK |
| Area served | England, France, Belgium, Scotland, Northern Ireland |
| Services | Passenger transportation, Freight transportation, Harbour Operation, Property |
| Operating income | £45.5 million (1985) |
| Divisions | Shipping Harbour Operations Overseas Property |
European Ferries Group Plc was a company that operated in passenger and freight ferries, harbour operation and property management in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was taken over by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company and renamed P&O European Ferries in 1987.[1]
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The European Ferries Group was incorporated in 1935 as Monument Securities Ltd, becoming a Public limited company in 1949.
In 1957, Monument Securities bought a 51% stake in Townsend Car Ferries Ltd and in 1959 acquired the rest in a full takeover. The same year Monument Securities changed its name to George Nott Industries Ltd.[1]
In 1968 George Nott Industries purchased the Otto Thoresen Shipping Company and its subsidiary Thoresen Car Ferries Ltd. As a result of this acquisition it changed its name to European Ferries Ltd. In 1971 the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Ltd (Trading as Transport Ferry Service) was acquired from the National Freight Corporation. All three of the companies under European Ferries Ltd used the name Townsend Thoresen to market their ferry services.
In 1973 European Ferries purchased Larne Harbour Ltd and a 50% stake in the former naval dockyard at Harwich. This was followed in 1976 with the acquisition of The Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company.[2]
In 1979 European Ferries Ltd entered the property industry in a joint venture for property development in Denver, it expanded this in Atlanta and in 1980 began buying further land in Houston. It had acquired around 5,000 acres (20 km2) of land.[1]
In May 1984 European Ferries Ltd transferred its assets to European Ferries Group Plc[1] and in January 1985 European Ferries made a further acquisition, when P&O decided to divest its ferry business and sold its operations between Dover and Boulogne and Southampton and Le Havre. These services were rebranded as Normandy Ferries Ltd.
On 6 March 1987, the Townsend-Thoresen branded car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized just outside Zeebrugge's harbour about 25 minutes after departure. A subsequent inquiry determined that the ships bow doors had been left open allowing water to get onto the car deck. 193 people died as a result of the sinking.
Following the sinking, later in 1987, European Ferries Group Plc was acquired by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company and renamed P&O European Ferries.[3] The Townsend Thoresen branded ships were rebranded with P&O Ferries due to the bad publicity that the disaster had caused for the brand.
| Successor | P&O European Ferries |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1968 |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Dover, UK |
| Area served | United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Northern Ireland |
| Services | Passenger transportation, Freight transportation |
Townsend Thoresen was the name used to market the passenger and freight ferry services that were run by the subsidiary companies Townsend Brothers Ferries Ltd, Thoresen Car Ferries Ltd and the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Ltd.
Townsend Brothers Ferries was set up in 1929 and in 1930 it started the first cross channel accompanied car service between Dover and Calais.[1] Their first ship was a converted minesweeper. In 1951 this was replaced with a converted frigate, which was superseded by their first purpose built roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry which entered service in 1962.
Celebrating Townsend's private-sector status, in competition with the government-run services of British Railways and SNCF on the Dover-Calais route the ship was named the Free Enterprise [4] Two subsequent vessels entered service in 1965 and 1966, being named Free Enterprise II and Free Enterprise III respectively beginning a second route from Dover to Zeebrugge.
Thoresen Car Ferries began operation in 1964, with routes from Southampton to Cherbourg and Le Havre. The company was set up as the Otto Thoresen Shipping Company by the Norwegian Otto Thoresen, a subsidiary Thoresen Car Ferries Ltd was setup in the United Kingdom to act as its agent.[1] 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.
The Atlantic Steam Navigation Company was incorporated in 1936 to operate a moderately priced trans-Atlantic passenger service, however this plan did not come to fruition due to the Second World War. In 1946 a primarily freight service between Tilbury and Rotterdam was begun using converted tank carriers. In 1964 Atlantic began a freight service between Felixstowe and Rotterdam, the following year adding a second service running to Antwerp. As a result of the expansion at Felixstowe, the Tilbury services were ended in 1968.[1]
Following the acquisition by European Ferries in 1971, Atlantic began a ferry service between Cairnryan and Larne to make use of the Port of Larne which European Ferries had purchased in 1973.[1] 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.
Townsend Thoresen had several different liveries during the history of the company. Former vessels from Townsend Brothers Ferries remained in their original livery, a greenish blue with white combination, while former vessels from Thoresen Car Ferries remained in their original brownish orange with white livery. From 1974 to 1976 the company used a greenish blue in combination with white for almost its entire fleet. The brownish orange livery was introduced in 1976 for the entire fleet and is probably the most recognized livery.
The company's routes were concentrated in four areas:
| Name | Period of service | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Baltic Ferry Requisitioned by MoD for Falklands Service |
1980–1987 (Except 1982 - 1983) | |
| Chantilly | 1966 | |
| Doric Ferry 1 | 1962–1981 | |
| Dragon (1985–1986) Ionic Ferry (1986–1987) |
1985–1987 | |
| European Clearway | 1976–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| European Enterprise | 1978–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| European Gateway | 1975–1982 | Sank in 1982, refloated later that year |
| European Trader | 1975–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Europic Ferry Requisitioned by MoD for Falklands Service |
1968 - 1987 (Except 1982) | |
| Free Enterprise (1962–1965) Free Enterprise I (1962–1980) |
1962–1980 | |
| Free Enterprise II | 1965–1982 | |
| Free Enterprise III | 1966–1984 | |
| Free Enterprise IV | 1969–1987 | |
| Free Enterprise V | 1970–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Free Enterprise VI | 1972–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Free Enterprise VII | 1973–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Free Enterprise VIII | 1974–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Hellas (1982–1983, 1985–1986) Doric Ferry 2 (1986–1987) |
1982–1983, 1985–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Herald of Free Enterprise | 1980–1987 | Sank outside Port of Zeebrugge in 1987. Later salvaged and scrapped. |
| Leopard | 1985–1986 | |
| Nordic Ferry Requisitioned by MoD for Falklands Service |
1980–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Pride of Free Enterprise | 1980–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Spirit of Free Enterprise | 1979–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Stena Searider | 1986 | |
| Syria (1982–1983) Cerdic Ferry (1985–1987) |
1982–1983, 1985–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Tiger | 1985–1986 | |
| Viking I (1964–1976) Viking Victory (1976–1981) |
1964–1981 | |
| Viking II | 1964–1976 | Sold to SeaLink |
| Viking III | 1965–1982 | |
| Viking IV | 1967–1981 | |
| Viking Valiant | 1974–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Viking Venturer | 1974–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Viking Voyager | 1975–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Viking Viscount | 1975–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Viking Trader 1 | 1980–1981 | |
| Viking Trader 2 | 1983–1987 | Acquired by P&O |
| Vortigern | 1987 |
In December 1985 Townsend Thoresen also ordered two new 20,000 ton vessels at a cost of £98 million which entered service in 1987 as the Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais, these arrived after the P&O takeover.[1]
In 1985 and 1986 four ships were rebuilt in a jumboisation project in order to increase their capacity.[1] 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.
European Ferries Ltd operated three different ports within the United Kingdom, these are at Larne, Cairnryan and Felixstowe. All three were operated by European Ferries until they were acquired by P&O.
In 1976 European Ferries took over the operations of Port of Felixstowe following the purchase of the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company.[1] Townsend Thoresen had begun a twice daily service from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge in 1974. By 1978, European Ferries had purpose built a passenger and freight terminal from which its subsidiary Townsend Thoresen could operate.[2]
Under the management of European Ferries, Felixstowe increased its container handling capacity to approximately 500,000 per annum and in 1980 a total of 252,802 containers were handled, making it the United Kingdoms largest container port. In 1984, Felixstowe became the first UK seaport to introduce computerised Custom's clearance.[2]
The management of the port was continued by P&O upon the acquisition of European Ferries in 1987.[2]
In 1973 European Ferries took over the operations of Port of Larne following the purchase of Larne Harbour Ltd.[1] Under European Ferries management the Port prospered, making it the leading ro/ro port in Northern Ireland. European Ferries have improved the handling facilities for ro/ro operations with new double deck facilities in 1978 (the first in Ireland)[5] and a new passenger terminal in 1985.[1]
European Ferries Group had a number of subsidiaries in the property management and development industry. These were managed by subsidiaries EF International Inc in the United States, Inmogold SA in Spain and Townsend Thoresen Developments Ltd and Townsend Thoresen Properties Ltd in the United Kingdom.[1]
In May 1985, European Ferries transferred the majority of its UK property interests to Stockley in exchange for a 44% share and as a result of Stockley's acquisition of 26.5% Stock Conversion this stake was reduced to 34.7%. European Ferries maintained a portfolio of around 15 to 20 properties in the UK and was also involved in a 1,100-acre (4.5 km2) leisure development in Southern Spain and other properties in Hamburg and Frankfurt[1]
In 1982, three vessels operated by European Ferries were requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence to assist with the Falklands Campaign.[8] The three vessels were; Europic Ferry,[9] Nordic Ferry[10] and Baltic Ferry[11]
Following the Falklands War a number of lessons had been learnt by the British Government, in a bid to test their understanding of these lessons, the Ministry of Defence scheduled a military exercise named Exercise Purple Warrior in Scotland in November 1987. A number of vessels were chartered by the MoD, including European Ferries Viking Viscount.[14] Prior to leaving for this charter the Viking Viscount was fitted with an extra ramp to enable unloading of vehicles to mexifloats.[14] A number of military vehicles were embarked in Plymouth prior to the exercise beginning.
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