M/V Havelet


Havelet under her Condor Ferries' livery.
M/V Havelet. Duncan collection.

In 1994, Commodore Shipping, Condor’ owner, purchased British Channel Islands Ferries and its ships. Therefore, Commodore Shipping was transferred Havelet’s charter which was transferred to Condor’s fleet for service between Weymouth and the Channel Islands.

Condor Ferries operated with Havelet a conventional service until the introduction of Condor Express in 1997. She was then laid up until Condor Ferries was forced to purchase her to operate her as a back-up vessel until the delivery of a new purpose-built RoPax ferry in 1999.

 

Technical Specifications of M/V Havelet
M/V Havelet (1994 - 2000)
The Ship
Launch 20th June 1976
Maiden Voyage 25th May 1977
Shipyard Trondheims Mekaniske Verksted, Norway
Owner Condor Ferries
Operator Condor Ferries
Routes Weymouth (GBR) - Channel Islands
IMO 7527899
Port of Registry Nassau, Bahamas
Technical Specifications
Length 109,70m
Breadth 16.50m
Draught 5.20m
Tonnage
Gross Tonnage 6,918 GT
Net Tonnage 3,383 NT
Deadweight 1662 DWT
Engines specifications
Engines 2 engines Pielstick 16PA6 V280
Power 8,240 kW (11,203 CH DIN)
Maximum Speed 16.5 knots
Passengers & Cargo
Passengers 550 passengers
Garage 205 cars

Service History

Cornouailles with Brittany Ferries (1977 - 1988)

Cornouailles at sea.
Cornouailles. Courtesy Brttany Ferries.

In 1975, Brittany Ferries chartered in Prince de Bretagne for service from Plymouth to Roscoff. Although she didn’t bring full satisfaction due to low passenger capacity and her poor sea-keeping ability, Brittany Ferries was interested by her shape and decided to order a ship that would share it.

Cornouailles was delivered to the company on 24th May 1977, and entered service on the Roscoff – Plymouth service the following day. However, despite her bigger passenger capacity than Prince de Bretagne’s one, Cornouailles soon appeared to be too small to cope with the growing traffic.

Thus, Cornouailles was chartered out to SNCF in 1984 and 1985 for service between Dieppe and Newhaven, replaced on the Roscoff – Plymouth service by the larger Benodet and Tregastel. In 1986, she established a freight-only service between Ouistreham and Portsmouth, before being transferred to Brittany Ferries’ subsidiary Truckline. She enabled the opening of the first passenger service between Cherbourg-en-Cotentin and Poole.

Havelet in the Channel Islands (1989 - 2000)

Havelet arriving in Weymouth from the Channel islands in her Condor Ferries livery.
Havelet arriving in Weymouth. Duncan collection.

In 1989, Truckline stopped operating Cornouailles on the Cherbourg-en-Cotentin – Poole service, replacing her with Tregastel. Cornouailles was then chartered by British Channel Islands Ferries as Havelet for service between Weymouth and the Channel Islands. She was to be operated only at summers. This service was later transferred to Poole, with Havelet operating alongside Rozel on this service.

Havelet benefited from a major overhaul in 1990. During this overhaul, she was added aft sponsons to increase her stability. Her outdoor deck was also extended towards her stern, and she was re-registered in Nassau.

Havelet has been therefore offered for charters at winters, and Brittany Ferries chartered her in 1992. She proved during this charter to be an unstable ship. Indeed, whilst she was leaving Cork, heading to Roscoff, Havelet was faced with a wave of an unusual force. Havelet was close from sinking however the only damages were eventually made on the cars she was carrying. Havelet had to return to Cork to enable repairs, and to enable the Irish coastguards to conduct an enquiry about the incident.

Once BCIF has been purchased by Commodore in 1994, Havelet’s charter was transferred to Condor Ferries, which introduced her on their Weymouth – Channel Islands service in order to provide an alternative service to the High Speed Service operated with Condor 10, Condor 11 and Condor 12.

However, the company decided in 1997 to focus its business on the High Speed service with the introduction of Condor Express. Therefore, Havelet discontinued service with Condor Ferries in early-1997. However, due to the numerous engine failures and weather-related cancellations of Condor Express, Condor Ferries was forced to purchase Havelet in late-1997, in order to keep its operating licence that had been proposed to other operators. Havelet was to be operated as a backup vessel until the delivery of a new purpose-built RoPax ferry in early-1999, that would have replaced both Havelet and Island Commodore.

Therefore, Havelet was laid up in Weymouth after Commodore Clipper’ introduction in early-1999 and offered for sale.

Sveti Stefan (2000 - 2013)

Havelet being laid up in eymouth, offered for sale.
Havelet being laid up in Weymouth. Courtesy Tony RIVE.

In August 2000, Condor Ferries sold Havelet to Prekookeanska Plovidbla, the parent company of Montenegro Lines. Havelet was renamed Sveti Stefan and allocated on the Bar – Bari service. Sveti Stefan performed her last sailing on this route on 16th April 2013, before being sent to Aliaga beach two days later. Sveti Stefan arrived there on 23rd April, ready for scrapping.

See Also

References

  • "Cornouailles / Havelet". In Ferry Fantastic, Holland, G., 2013. [retrieved 15th August 2015]. Available at www.ferryfantastic.webs.com ;
  • "M/F Sveti Stefan". In The Ferry Site, Koefoed-Hansen, M., 2015. [retrieved 15th August 2015]. Available at www.ferry-site.dk ;
  • "Farewell Cornouailles, Havelet, Sveti Stefan". In HHV Ferry, HHV Ferry, 2013. [retrieved 15th August 2015]. Available at www.hhvferry.com.