MS Pride of Bruges

MS Pride of Bruges, originally in service as Norsun, was a P&O Ferries ship used on the North Sea crossing between Zeebrugge and Hull.

For other ships with the same name, see Pride of Bruges.

MS Pride of Bruges in the Port of Zeebrugge
History
Name:
  • Norsun (1987–2003)
  • Pride of Bruges (2003 – 2020)
Owner:
Operator:
Port of registry: Rotterdam,  Netherlands
Route: Hull-Zeebrugge
Builder: NKK, Japan
Yard number: 1033
Launched: August 1986
Maiden voyage: May 1987
Out of service: 25 January 2021
Identification: IMO number: 8503797
Status: Out of service
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage: 31,598 GT
Length: 179.35 m (588 ft 5 in)
Beam: 25.09 m (82 ft 4 in)
Draught: 6.10 m (20 ft 0 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
  • 2 × controllable pitch propellors
  • 2 × bow thrusters
Speed: 19 kn (35 km/h)
Capacity:
  • 930 passengers
  • 850 cars

History

The ship was built by Nippon Kokan K.K. Tsurumi Yard in Yokohama, Japan. The keel was laid in 1985 and was launched in 1986. Upon completion, the ship entered service in 1987 for Noordzee Veerdiensten or North Sea Ferries, then a joint-venture between Dutch Nedlloyd and British P&O. The first years it sailed on the Rotterdam-Hull route with sister ship Norsea, replacing Norstar and Norland. The Norsun sailed under the Dutch flag and was owned by the Dutch half of the joint-venture, while the Norsea was British.

In 1996 ownership transferred to P&O Ferries as Nedlloyd sold its 50% stake to P&O. The ships sailed the Rotterdam route until 2001 when they were replaced by the Pride of Rotterdam and the Pride of Hull.

In 2002 the ships were transferred to the Zeebrugge-Hull route,[2] again replacing Norstar and Norland. Both ships were internally modernized before entering service on this new route.

In October 2016 it was announced that Pride of Bruges and Pride of York would be refitted.[3]

In October 2020, P&O announced that Pride of Bruges and Pride of York are to be taken out of service due to the decline in traffic caused by the global pandemic of Coronavirus. On 15 December 2020, P&O announced on Twitter that the service would be stopped from 1 January 2021. Both Pride of Bruges and sister ship Pride of York are expected to be scrapped.[4]

Layout

Decks of the pride of Bruges:

  • Freight Deck 1
  • Freight Deck 2
  • Car Decks 3 and 3A
  • Green Deck 4
  • Red Deck 5
  • Blue Deck 6
  • Crew Deck 7[5]

Green Deck

Green Deck was the fourth deck from the waterline. Forward were Cabins 3000–3090. These cabins were either premier or club cabins and most of them were added in the 2002 refit.[5] Further aft was the children's playroom and the quiet room which made up the lobby. At the end of this deck were the Kitchen and Brasserie restaurants. The aftermost part of this deck was a small promenade for people eating in the kitchen.[6]

Red Deck

Red Deck was the main deck of the ship. Forward, standard and premier rooms were located. The location of the cabins forward on each deck minimised felt vibration and noise from the engines.[5] Further aft was the reception and bureau de change for foreign currency. In this room was a large model of the Pride of Bruges. Behind this was the liquor and tobacco shop which was beside the beauty and gift shop. Adjacent was the coffee shop and cafe. Also on the Red Deck were the boulevard bar, casino, video arcade and the sunset show lounge. The most aft section was a promenade deck.[5]

Blue Deck

Blue deck was similar to red deck. Forward were four club cabins with a view over the ship's bow. The rest of the cabins were standard inside and outside cabins. In the centre of this deck was the lobby which had access to the large promenade deck outside. This promenade deck was on port and starboard sides and extended for half of the ship's length.[5] The section aft of this room was the Moonlight Lounge and flying Dutchman bar. The aftermost part of this deck was the promenade deck.

Docking

Hull

Pride of Bruges docked at terminal 2, King George Dock, Hull. Just a few hundred yards away is the terminal for the Hull-Rotterdam ferries. To leave Hull the ship had to squeeze through the lock bow first which only has a few centimetres of clearance on each side. To come back to dock in Hull, she passed through the lock bow first before she had to turn clockwise and reverse into the dock.

Zeebrugge

Zeebrugge was easier than Hull. To dock, the ship entered the harbour, turns and reverses.[6]

Sister ships

The Pride of Bruges had one sister ship:

In the media

The Pride of Bruges featured in Episode Three of the BBC Documentary Engineering Giants: Ferry Strip-Down, first broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday 29 July 2012. her sister ship, Pride of York, was also shown.

References
  1. "Faktaomfartyg.se – Pride of Bruges (1987)". Faktaomfartyg. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  2. "Ferries Hull To Bruges". Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. "MS Pride of York relaunched after refurbishment at Remontowa SA". Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  4. Riley, Anna (15 December 2020). "P&O Ferries Hull to Zeebrugge route axed due to Covid impact". HullLive. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. "onboardpoferries.com | Pride of Bruges | Technical Details". www.onboardpoferries.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  6. "Cheap Ferries to France, Ireland & Europe | P&O Ferries – UK". www.poferries.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
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