MS Pride of Dover

Pride of Dover was the last new ship to appear in service with the famous Townsend Thoresen orange hull, although she was delivered with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) house flag painted on her funnel in place of the traditional 'TT' insignia. Townsend Thoresen was renamed P&O European Ferries late in 1987, following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster, and Pride of Dover was swiftly repainted in the new company colours.

They were an evolution of the Spirit Class that preceded them and were built in the same dockyard, however, they were so large that their hulls were put together at a different shipyard to that of the construction. This was because the contract winner, Schichau Unterweser, could not fit the hull of the vessels on their slipway. They were instead constructed in sections in Bremerhaven and towed down the River Weser by Barge to Bremer Vulcan. Pride of Calais unlike Pride of Dover was largely complete when she was launched at Bremer Vulcan before being towed to Schichau Unterweser for fitting out.

Pride of Dover primarily operated the Dover–Calais route.

Between 1998 and 2002 she was under the control of P&O Stena Line and carried the name P&OSL Dover from 1999 until 2002. Once returned to P&O control she was renamed PO Dover before she was repainted into new P&O Ferries livery when her name returned to Pride of Dover.[2]

2007 was not a good year for the vessel. On the 20th of February, she made contact with a berth in Calais damaging her ‘Cow Catcher’. Due to this she remained at the Dover cargo terminal until the 24th whilst undergoing emergency repairs. On the 2nd of May, she departed for her annual overhaul at A&P Falmouth. this period of maintenance over ran resulting in her not re-entering on the 24th of May causing three sailings to be cancelled finally re-entering Service a day later. Less than a month later on the 19th June, whilst coming astern to berth 7 in Dover, she suffered a power failure and made heavy contact with the quay causing damage to her stern spade and resulting with the stern doors becoming unusable necessitating a visit to the ARNO shipyard in Dunkerque for repairs lasting a week.

On the 10th of October 2008, she was sent to Rotterdam with propeller problems returning to service 4 days later. On 17th of November 2009, she suffered engine problems in one of the three engines. After riding out storm-force winds, she went to lay-be berth at Calais before going to ARNO at Dunkerque on the 22nd of November. She left ARNO on the 25th returning to service on the 27th reportedly suffering from gearbox problems and only using two engines. She went back to ARNO mid-January 2010 for repairs to the gearbox and propellers returning in service on the 27th. On April the 24th she was again suffering from engine problems and went to the Dover Cruise Terminal for Centre main engine work.[3]

In October 2010 it was announced that she would end her P&O service on 14 December 2010 with her last crossing leaving Dover at 2355 local time. She was replaced by the new Superferry Spirit of Britain, with a bigger capacity and almost double the gross tonnage, at 47,600 tons, the second-largest ferry to cross the channel.[4] Pride of Dover was laid up in Tilbury Docks and offered for sale. In February 2012, her house flag was removed from her funnel, but she remained in warm lay-up in Tilbury until 23 October 2012, when Pride of Dover was put into cold lay-up. All her generators were switched off and her skeleton crew was transferred to her sister, Pride of Calais, which was laid-up in Tilbury on that day.

On 6 November 2012, almost two years after she had been laid up, P&O Ferries announced that the Pride of Dover, with her engine damaged beyond repair, to German shipping interests.[5] Her name was changed to Pride and all her P&O logos were removed. On 29 November, she left Tilbury for Tuzla, Turkey in tow of tug Eide Fighter,[2] but was delivered to Aliağa on 27 December.

• MS Pride of Calais built 1987