M/V Duchesse Anne

Connacht was built in 1978 for B+I Line, on the purpose of operating her on the Cork – Swansea service. She began operation in February 1979. However, due to lack of passenger, Connacht was transferred to the Pembrocke – Cork service as soon as May 1979. Due to lack of passengers once again, Connacht was transferred in 1980 to the Liverpool – Dublin route.

In June 1988, Connacht was purchased by the SABEMEN, which sent her for refurbishment and overhaul to the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. However, she proved to be in a poorer condition than expected and twice more money than planned had to be spend to overhaul her. Renamed Duchesse Anne by her new operator, Brittany Ferries, she was introduced on 13th February 1989 on the Saint-Malo – Portsmouth service.

Due to the transfer of Bretagne on the Saint-Malo service, Duchesse Anne was transferred to summer-only routes from 1993. Therefore, she operated the Saint-Malo – Cork, Saint-Malo – Poole and Roscoff – Cork services. Nevertheless, due to lack of passenger, the Saint-Malo – Cork service was discontinued after summer 1994. In September 1995, Duchesse Anne landed off the coast of Saint-Malo, requiring repairs.

In October 1996, due to financial issues, Brittany Ferries decided to close down her routes, and sold Duchesse Anne to Croatian company Jadrolinja which renamed her Dubrovnik. Since then, she operates a Dubrovnik – Bari service.