Following her overhaul and hull repaint at the Astander shipyard in Santander, Spain, Condor Ferries’ ro-pax vessel Commodore Clipper (1999/14,000gt) arrived at the Port of Poole on 1 October for completion of works including testing of the evacuation equipment.
The ferry returned to service between Portsmouth and the Channel Islands on 6 October, including a weekly freight-only rotation between the French port of Cherbourg and Rosslare on behalf of shareholder Brittany Ferries, which has recently acquired a 51 per cent stake in Condor Ferries as well as assuming operational responsibility.
In other Poole ferry news, one rotation of Brittany Ferries’ Poole-Cherbourg vessel Barfleur (1992/20,133gt) was cancelled on 3 / 4 October so that it could transport 42 freight trailers from Portsmouth to St Helier (Jersey) due to a backlog caused by recent weather cancellations, Barfleur having already been successfully trialled there and in St Peter Port (Guernsey) earlier this year for potential future deployment on Channel Island routes. From St Helier the Barfleur proceeded to Cherbourg to regain its regular schedule.
Photo and report by Kevin Mitchell
