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Spirit Of Britain News

13 Apr 2022

Another P&O Ferry Seized on Disrupted Dover-Calais Route

A second P&O ferry that sails between the English town of Dover and the French city of Calais has been detained by British officials due to a "number of deficiencies", likely exacerbating Easter holiday travel disruption.P&O Ferries, which accounted for a third of Dover's capacity, has struggled to operate a service after it fired 800 workers last month to cut costs, drawing sharp criticism from the government and sparking union protests.Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have since inspected a number of P&O's vessels and suspended four, with two operating between Dover and Calais.

25 May 2021

P&O Ferries and DFDS Ink Space Charter Agreement

(Photo: P&O Ferries)

Two ferry operators on the English Channel on Tuesday announced a deal to make freight space on their Dover-Calais ships available to one another to maintain customer service levels on the route and ensure its continued resilience.Under the space charter agreement between P&O Ferries and DFDS, freight drivers can arrive at either the Port of Dover or Port of Calais and board the next available sailing, irrespective of whether the ferry is operated by either company.David Stretch…

24 Jan 2016

Port Of Calais Closed As Migrants Storm Ship

The Port of Calais had to be temporarily closed after dozens of refugees and migrants stormed on to a ship in the hope of reaching the UK. About 50 people made their way on to a P&O-operated vessel called Spirit of Britain. British anarchists were among some 35 people under arrest in Calais on Sunday after leading a 'scandalous' invasion of the ferry port by some 500 migrants. Police attended the incident, which was resolved later in the evening and the port reopened. Services to and from Calais had been severely disrupted while it was dealt with. The BBC quoted Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart as saying 50 asylum-seekers had boarded a P&O ferry while it was unloading. It said the police were on the scene.

24 Jan 2016

Migrants Storm Port of Calais and Board British Ferry

Around 200 refugees managed to break into the port of Calais in northern France on Saturday after a demonstration of support for migrants living in a slum nearby ended, enabling some of them to board the front deck of a British ferry, an official said. "A demonstration in Calais has drawn around 2,000 people and in the end around 200 people entered the port, with approximately 50 of them boarding a ferry, the 'Spirit of Britain', on an external deck," deputy Calais prefect Denis Gaudin told Reuters. MS Spirit of Britain is a cross-channel ferry operated by P&O Ferries. Gaudin said that some of the refugees had decided to quit the boat voluntarily and that the rest would be removed by police, if necessary by force.

04 Mar 2015

Propulsion is the Next Step for Survitec's MES

Photo courtesy of Survitec

The company that launched the world's first MES is now actively developing an Alternative Escape System (AES) for large passenger ships. Survitec Group wants to combine the benefits of chute evacuation with the advantage of propulsion, a feature that is normally the preserve of a traditional davit launched lifeboat. The new technology is being seen as the natural progression to Survitec's existing range of MES solutions but, according to Richard McCormick, Group Head of Sales for MES, it is more than an evolution of the company's MES concept.

07 Mar 2011

NAPA Software Solutions Applied For The P&O Ferries Newbuilding The Spirit Of Britain

STX Finland Rauma shipyard has successfully appliead NAPA for finding the optimum subdivision design for the P&O Ferries 49.000 GT newbuildings. These ships are the largest ferries ever to operate in the English Channel. The stability of the vessels complies with the Stockholm Agreement and naturally also with the SOLAS 2009 requirements. After applying the optimising features implemented into NAPA, the designer quickly searched for the maximum safety level that was obtainable…

18 Feb 2011

Spirit of France Launched at STX Rauma Shipyard

Launching of the second car-passenger ferry, NB 1368 the Spirit of France, which STX Rauma shipyard is building for P&O Ferries, was conducted on Thursday, 17 February 2011. The vessel is a sister ship of the Spirit of Britain, which was handed over to the client in January 2011. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the client P&O Ferries and STX Finland, theclassification society Lloyd’s Register and media representatives, as well as numerous other guests invited by the shipyard and the ship-owner. As water was flooding the drydock, 1368 pieces of colourful balloons were released into the sky. “The construction of the Spirit of France continues as planned and at a rapid pace.

17 Feb 2011

STX Rauma Launches Spirit of France at

Launching of the second car-passenger ferry, NB 1368 the Spirit of France, which STX Rauma shipyard is building for P&O Ferries, was conducted on Thursday, 17 February 2011. The vessel is a sister ship of the Spirit of Britain, which was handed over to the client in January 2011. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the client P&O Ferries and STX Finland, the classification society Lloyd’s Register and media representatives, as well as numerous other guests invited by the shipyard and the ship-owner. As water was flooding the drydock, 1368 pieces of colourful balloons were released into the sky. “The construction of the Spirit of France continues as planned and at a rapid pace.

25 Aug 2010

P&O’s Newest Ferry the Spirit of Britain

Captain David Miller, Senior master of the Spirit of Britain, will later this year welcome passengers onboard P&O's latest ferry. Photo courtesy Consilium

P&O’s new ferry, the 49,000 GRT Spirit of Britain just recently floated out onto the water at STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland. She will after delivery serve the Dover-Calais route from January 2011. Construction is also started on her sister; the Spirit of France, due to operate from September 2011. When the vessel is completed, the Spirit of Britain will be the biggest ferry operating on the English Channel, at a capacity of 3746 lane meters (lm) for trailers, cars and other cargo and space for approximately 180 freight trucks, 195 passenger cars and 1.750 passengers.