Another going before her time? Ostend Spirit

According to rumour, which is beginning to look as if it's fact, Ostend Spirit (the former Pride of Calais) will soon be joining her late sister, Pride of Dover, on the beaches of Turkey. She's been laid up in Tilbury since the collapse of TEF in late April and, the longer she was laid up, the more likely it was she'd be got rid of.

Considering the ship is in good repair and has been looked after, this is a shame but she is only suited to very short routes without extensive modifications so very few people, if any, would want her unless they're prepared to spend some serious money on conversions.

Another one going before her time.

Here are some scanned prints of her over the years (except, for some reason, as P&OSL Calais in the appalling halfway house colours of the short-lived P&O Stena collaboration; I think she was away for a refit during the time of my visit during that period). Sadly I never did catch up with her as Ostend Spirit.

Calais, 2003

I have got a slide and negative scanner and have had a go at scanning some pictures from negatives. It's a bit hit-and-miss and the device is temperamental at times, due mainly to a dodgy USB port on my computer, but I tried it out with some scans of negatives from a couple of trips to Calais ten years ago (TEN years??!!). I have had a bit of trouble getting the colour balance just right as there was a green bias on some of the originals, plus dust and animal hairs had got onto the negatives, despite my best efforts, but the process is easier and quicker than using a flat-bed scanner and scanning prints one at a time. The photos are also noisy, but noise-reduction software which works really well on images from a digital camera doesn't seem to work as well on scanned negatives; this is most likely because the scanned pictures are grainier anyway, especially that from 400 or 800 ISO film, which is very evident onscreen. One thing is certain, there's no way I would ever return to using film, not unless I absolutely had to!

Sobering to think that four out of the six ships shown here are now no longer with us - SeaFrance Cezanne, SeaFrance Renoir, Pride of Provence and Pride of Dover have all gone to the great harbour in the sky, the latter two prematurely - while out of the remaining two, only Pride of Kent remains on the Dover-Calais route, while Pride of Calais is now TEF's new Ostend Spirit and, from what I have heard, very pleased Oostende are with her, too. Not only that, SeaFrance are also gone, having gone bust and their remaining ships taken on by Eurotunnel (of all people) trading as My Ferry Link.

Looking at these pictures on the computer screen highlights the deficiencies in the camera equipment I had then, you don't notice soft edges on 6x4 prints. Also, one of my old Nikon F3 or FE was definitely on the way out, judging by the fact quite a few photos are turning up 'fogged'.

It's time I made another trip down that way. I definitely plan to in the spring at some point.

Pride of Dover...the end of the road

With it looking absolutely inevitable there will be no reprieve and miracle for my old friend, I put this together from some of my old photos of her. It's not much, but it'll do.

Goodbye old friend. Rest in peace and thank you for the crossings over the years.

A ship, like a person, is more than just the sum of its parts. It's not just the people involved with it, it's *something else*, too. People have long said that ships have souls, personalities and feelings and, although it might be considered just a flight of fancy by the foolishly romantic among us, that includes those people considered generally unromantic, like seamen, some who have said the same thing over the years.

Why else would the confirmation of the sale of an old ferry to breakers mar, if not ruin, so many people's - not just my - Christmas Day, with grown people professing to be 'gutted'? Is it because she was once pride of the fleet, now unwanted, unloved and, despite hopes to the contrary, cast aside for an undignified, if natural death, cut to pieces at the hands of ship-breakers? Maybe. At the very least, she was a big favourite of many ferry enthusiasts, especially those on the eastern Channel, and has gone to breakers before her time (and after rumours of repairs were proved to be false, which also upset people) which, in itself, is reason enough to be sad at her passing - although her 25 years of life were good ones, only marred by the occasional breakdown and the last two years in lay up.

Some people would consider it overly sentimental to be sad about a ship, a machine made of steel, plastic, glass and other assorted compounds and elements, but so what? If it makes me and others 'sentimental', then fine, I am in great company. I've never really given a toss about what other people think, as it is generally people unimportant to me who would have a go - those who matter don't care and those who care don't matter!

In the meantime, Pride of Dover awaits her fate off the coast near Aliaga, which she reached this morning, and Eide Fighter is again dragging her round in large circles. I assume they are waiting for a beaching slot.**

**Edit, 28th December - The deed, it appears, is now done. :-(

Edited

"Well. This sucks"

This is going to be a downbeat post. Sorry about that, it being Crimbo Day and all that, but there was some bad news about Pride of Dover this morning; someone posted on Dover Ferry Photo Forums that the destination of the tug towing her has been changed from Tuzla, where the shipyards are, to Aliaga, where ship-breakers lurk. While this is not unexpected it is nonetheless very sad news, particularly on Christmas morning and appears to dash the hopes of her fans and friends that she'd be repaired for further service.
Whether she was destined originally for possible repair and things were changed after some discussions - and she spent a day or two being dragged round in circles off Sicily for no apparent reason - we shall probably never know, but it is a sad and premature end for a wonderful ship and a few people's Christmas Days were slightly marred by that news, judging by comments on forums. Her twin, Ostend Spirit (ex. Pride of Calais) will be lonely...well, apart from the ancient Larkspur and Gardenia, whose own futures cannot be assured given their ages and the fact that Larkspur is knackered.

On the subject of sad ends and possible demises, the fate of the QE2 has come back into the public domain, with a report in the UK's Daily Mail that she'd been sold to the Chinese for scrap after Dubai flatly turned down a bid from a consortium in London who wanted to buy her for use as a hotel adjacent to the O2 Arena. This has not been confirmed and not reported elsewhere, apart from rehashes of the DM story, and, frankly, I'd take it with a pinch of salt - as any rumour - until it is reported in the shipping press, rather than a tabloid. As reported on the QE2 Story Forum, her crew had been changed, en masse, to a Chinese one which is where the latest batch of rumours began. There are rumours also of her being used as a hotel in the Far East or Singapore and also, more bizarrely, being cut down for use as a Chinese helicopter carrier or converted into a troop-ship.
Cunard issued the following statement on their Facebook page (probably because they got bombarded with comments from upset and angry QE2 fans):

"We have noted the messages of understandable concern with regards to the recent article in the Daily Mail with reference to QE2. We remain in close contact with Dubai and can reassure you that to the very best of our knowledge this story is pure speculation - one of a number of stories and rumours as we have seen over recent months. Our best advice would be to ignore the story.

Best regards,
Cunard Line."

I hope Cunard are right and not just saying it to get people off their case...! Time will tell.

As Christmases go, this has not been the best, Pride of Dover and QE2's fates aside, I have a neck injury (suspected slipped disc, with the attendant nerve problems) and a few other things have gone wrong, and I expect that SFC will cap it with a loss at Fulham tomorrow... Roll on January!

*Post title, from film 'Madagascar' when the penguins get less than they were expecting on landing in Antarctica. I am out of ideas for good post titles.

Farewell Pride of Dover

Yesterday, 29th November, Pride of Dover (but now with her name amended to Pride) left Tilbury under tow of the ocean-going tug Eide Fighter, towards Tuzla, Turkey, and an uncertain future. At around 6 knots, Pride of Dover (that's what I knew her as and that's what I'll continue to call her) and tug weren't moving very fast and passed Dover late yesterday evening. I knew they'd be passing south of the Isle of Wight this afternoon and, depending on the weather conditions, the westbound shipping lane can be seen from Ventnor, if you are up high enough. This morning was a bit misty, so I didn't have any firm plans to go and see if I could spot the two ships, but I was out with the dogs this afternoon and saw the conditions had cleared, so drove to Ventnor more hopeful than actually expecting to see them.

There was a line of ships out on the horizon and a quick look through binoculars confirmed that two of them were Pride of Dover and Eide Fighter, so I took a few long-distance shots from the view point above Bonchurch. I'd been on a birdwatching trip and seen the sum total of bugger-all birds, but seeing Pride of Dover, albeit at a distance, more than made up for that.

Of course, at a distance of around 20 miles, these pics, taken with a 400mm lens, are pretty crummy as expected but they're 'record shots', no more. One is 'as is', the other is cropped.

No-one knows what is going to happen to the ship, apart from the people who now own her. She needs repairs, which according to rumour would require completely new engines because hers are knackered, and as her destination (or rather, that of the tug towing her; PoD is being towed as a 'dead ship' with no power, or AIS signal, of her own) is the ship-yard at Tuzla, there's hope that she is going to be repaired for further service. If not, the scrap yard at Aliaga is not too far from there.
I said 'farewell' to my old friend and wished her luck.

And here is the ship in happier times

A thought...25 years ago, another unwanted ferry passed here, under tow. Herald of Free Enterprise, as Flushing Range, would have been visible, conditions permitting.

2nd December - More rumours of the ship's ultimate fate have surfaced today, with a suggestion that she will be assessed at the shipyard at Tuzla to see if she can be repaired for service in the Black Sea. I certainly hope she can and, judging by other people's comments, so do a lot of people. But, if not then it'll be the beaches of Aliaga for her.
Meanwhile 'Pride', and Eide Fighter are now doing circles in Lyme Bay, presumably because of an inclement weather forecast for the Bay of Biscay.

11th December - Pride of Dover and Eide Fighter eventually left the Channel last Thursday and continued on their way. Eide Fighter and her precious towed cargo are now around 100 miles from the Strait of Gibraltar and are expected to arrive at their destination on Christmas Day.
Meanwhile rumours and counter-rumours abound as to what's going to happen to the old ship. Some people say 'breakers' because Aliaga lies 1000km away from the given destination of Tuzla (and based on the fact that, in the past, ships' stated destinations have not proven to be entirely accurate, with journeys ending at breakers instead of the previously stated destinations - ships can, and do, change hands while underway) while others have heard things from contacts, friends and relatives who work for shipping companies and say that she will be repaired at Tuzla because, even with the tow costs, it's cheaper than Northern Europe. The repairs, if this happens, include new engines. I sincerely hope that the latter is true but if I were a betting person I wouldn't be putting my meagre savings on it, much as I want it to happen - and the ships have to pass Aliaga on the way to Tuzla...I hope that Eide Fighter won't be 'dropping something off'. I daresay we'll find out around Christmas.
This all reminds me of the football transfer windows, with a similar level of gossip, rumour and speculation.

In the meantime Pride of Dover's twin, Pride of Calais, also no longer wanted by P&O, has been apparently earmarked for TEF's Ramsgate to Ostende service.

The place for the latest news (plus rumours, gossip and speculation) is right here.

Goodbye (another) Old Friend?

It seems as if there is no end to bad news and potential bad news. Following on from the rumours about QE2 (and they are, thankfully, only just rumours so far) and hearing that one of my old friends has gone to the great harbour in the sky, there was further bad news yesterday when Pride of Dover's name came up in a list of ships sold for scrap. This is getting depressing!
She'd been laid up in Tilbury since December 2010, so without a buyer or someone to charter her (and several potential sales and charters fell through, for various reasons), her future was becoming more and more tenuous.

Obligatory photos, as is the case with all my favourite dead, doomed or soon-to-be-doomed ships, from over the years, right from the late 80's (taken from Pride of Kent) up to the 2000's starting with the oldest first. These are all scanned prints.

Update (6th Nov)...
Or is it? I see the ship's name has vanished from that list. On Dover Ferry Photos Forums the latest rumour has her said to be sold to 'German shipping interests' and to be 'towed away for repair'. Would they repair a ship if she's not going to be scrapped? I hope she is saved.