Condor announces a new fastcat for UK to Jersey and France, but it's not quite so new ...
I picked up news today of a recent fast catamaran purchase by Condor Ferries to replace the ageing Condor 10 on their services between the UK, Channel Islands and St Malo in France.
Condor report that the ship will be known as the Condor Rapide and is due to go into service in May 2010. The 86m vessel is a "younger sister" of their existing ferries Condor Vitesse and Condor Express; and prior to its purchase by Condor she was operated as part of the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Jervis Bay.
BBC (Channel Islands) news covers the same story of the Condor purchase of HMAS Jervis Bay and reports that Condor hope to be able to "increase capacity by up to three times".
When I read the report and the mention of the name HMAS Jervis Bay it triggered a recollection that I'd heard that ship name before, and sure enough a quick Google search took me to the Wikipedia entry on HMAS Jervis Bay where my suspicions were confirmed, this was none other than the ex-SpeedFerries vessell, SpeedOne. I knew I'd heard the name before!
I've not seen any news of SpeedOne since June 2009 when I wrote about the judicial sale of SpeedOne for £8m and selling off of the remaining assets of SpeedFerries. At the time I reported that SpeedOne had been sold to a company called 'Prospect Number 70 Limited' and mused that it was likely that the boat had been sold to some form of venture capital company and would in time be sold onto another ferry operator.
Well one up to me, I was proven right!
There's a final comment in the CondorFerries press release (which makes no mention whatsoever of SpeedFerries - no surprise there really) that "She is in excellent condition, her previous owners have invested a seven figure sum in upgrades, and Condor Ferries will spend further substantial sums in the coming months to ensure she meets the highest standards".
No mention either of what price Condor paid - I'll bet it was more than £8m.
See further blog postings on the rise and fall of SpeedFerries
Condor report that the ship will be known as the Condor Rapide and is due to go into service in May 2010. The 86m vessel is a "younger sister" of their existing ferries Condor Vitesse and Condor Express; and prior to its purchase by Condor she was operated as part of the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Jervis Bay.
BBC (Channel Islands) news covers the same story of the Condor purchase of HMAS Jervis Bay and reports that Condor hope to be able to "increase capacity by up to three times".
When I read the report and the mention of the name HMAS Jervis Bay it triggered a recollection that I'd heard that ship name before, and sure enough a quick Google search took me to the Wikipedia entry on HMAS Jervis Bay where my suspicions were confirmed, this was none other than the ex-SpeedFerries vessell, SpeedOne. I knew I'd heard the name before!
I've not seen any news of SpeedOne since June 2009 when I wrote about the judicial sale of SpeedOne for £8m and selling off of the remaining assets of SpeedFerries. At the time I reported that SpeedOne had been sold to a company called 'Prospect Number 70 Limited' and mused that it was likely that the boat had been sold to some form of venture capital company and would in time be sold onto another ferry operator.
Well one up to me, I was proven right!
There's a final comment in the CondorFerries press release (which makes no mention whatsoever of SpeedFerries - no surprise there really) that "She is in excellent condition, her previous owners have invested a seven figure sum in upgrades, and Condor Ferries will spend further substantial sums in the coming months to ensure she meets the highest standards".
No mention either of what price Condor paid - I'll bet it was more than £8m.
See further blog postings on the rise and fall of SpeedFerries
Labels: Condor, Ferry, SpeedFerries
posted by Geoffrey at 4:27 pm Permalink
1 Comments:
Great news, this will be good for all those catering for the holiday maker this summer and into the future. Wil add a post to my blog also.
By
Chris Jewell, at March 27, 2010
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