The fery Cotentin (2007/19,909gt) resumed commercial operations for Brittany Ferries on 1 January with a sailing from Cherbourg, and is pictured making its first departure from Poole the following morning.
The 168m ro-ro freight ferry was purpose-built for Brittany Ferries but had been chartered to Stena Line as Stena Baltica since the end of 2013.
She was delivered back to her French owners during November 2020 and is an ideal vessel to fulfil the UK Department for Transport contract for extra freight capacity on routes to France following Brexit and the end of the free trade agreement with the EU.
The Finnish-built Cotentin will cover the Poole-Cherbourg route until the beginning of April, when the ro-pax Barfleur (1992/20,133gt) is set to resume passenger operations.
Cotentin will then operate Portsmouth-Le Havre in place of the chartered Etretat (2008/26,500gt) which will return to Stena Ro-Ro. Kevin Mitchell
