MV Al Arabia

The MV Al Arabia was a roro-ferry which has seen service on several routes. The ship was built for the Belgium state-owner operator Regie voor Maritiem Transport België as the Prinses Maria Esmeralda. She sailed on the Ostend-Dover route.

History
Name: MV Al Arabia
Port of registry: Moroni, Comoros
Builder: Belliard Hoboken
Launched: 28 January 1975
Christened: 1975: Prinses Maria Esmeralda, 1995 + 1998 Wisteria, 1997+2000 Beni Ansar, 2007 Aquaba Express, 2007 Al Arabia
In service: 1975
Out of service: 2007
Identification: IMO number: 7357555
Fate: Scrapped in India
General characteristics
Tonnage: 12,046 gross register tons (GRT)
Length:
  • 118.42 m (388.5 ft)
  • Before enlarging:118.42 m (388.5 ft)
Beam:
  • 23.32 m (76.5 ft)
  • Before enlarging:19.9 m (65.3 ft)
Depth:
  • 5.05 m (16.6 ft)
  • Before enlarging:4.52 m (14.8 ft)
Installed power: 18.200
Propulsion: 2 * Pielstick 18PC2V400[1][2]
Speed: 21 kn (38.9 km/h)
Capacity: 1475/1250 passengers

Under the name Wisteria she also sailed on the route Ostend-Ramsgate and on the Almeria to Nador line. This 1975 built ship is a sistership of the MV Eurovoyager and MV Larkspur.

History

In 1975 the Belliard Shipyard built the ship under dock-number 877. The ship was ordered by the state-owned operator Regie voor Maritiem Transport België. She was christened Prinses Maria Esmeralda. She sailed on the Dover-Ostend route.

In 1995 the ship was sold to Transeuropa Ferries and renamed MV Wisteria to sail on the Ostend-Ramsgate route.

During some summers the ship was chartered to ferry-operators between Spain and Morocco and Tunisia. Since 2000 she moved permanently to run on the Almeria to Nador route until she was sold for scrapping in 2007 to India [2]

Sisterships

The Prinses Maria Esmeralda was one of three sisterships ordered by RMT. The Prins Albert and the Princesse Marie Christine.[3]

References and footnotes
  1. Data also based on details sistership Primrose op Website Transeuropa Ferries, retrieved 7 August 2010
  2. The Ferry Site on MV Al Arabia, visited 8 August 2010
  3. The Ferry site on MV Primrose, Visited 21 August 2010
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