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Norman Voyager stopped from leaving port


Russethouse

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[quote user="Russethouse"] I just caught a bit on the Southern News that a new to the route, LD lines ferry had to disembark it's passengers due to a lack of crew safety training (from what I understood) No doubt this will cause delays somewhere along the line...[/quote]

It's the Norman Voyager:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8369462.stm

Not a good advert for the service.

Regards

Pickles

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Although it's an LD Lines ferry, it has been chartered to Celtic Link, so the problem lies, presumably, with the Celtic Link crew.

The Martime & Coastguard Agency is due to re-inspect the ship today.

A previous attempt by Celtic Link to run a Portsmouth-Cherbourg ferry service had to be abandoned because the ship couldn't meet UK safety standards; as this time the ship is nearly new we thought the situation would be rather better, but the company obviously still has problems.

http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/item302_celtic_mist.htm

 

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The action may possibly have been brought about following a complaint from the union or a former crewmember, I travelled on one of the last Norman Arrow crossings to Boulogne sur mer and the barman told me that all the crew were being made redundant on the 11th when the boat moved to the new route.

Editted. Whoops wrong boat!

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[quote user="Chancer"]

The action may possibly have been brought about following a complaint from the union or a former crewmember, I travelled on one of the last Norman Arrow crossings to Boulogne sur mer and the barman told me that all the crew were being made redundant on the 11th when the boat moved to the new route.

Editted. Whoops wrong boat!

[/quote]

An easy mistake to make Chancer, they are both Normans and have therefore been causing problems since 1066 [:)]

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Dear all,

 

I've just received a message from LD Lines requesting I post the following statement:

 

The Norman Voyager ferry, whose services between Portsmouth and Cherbourg are currently not operating, is not owned or operated by LD Lines, but is now chartered to Celtic Link Ferries and has been since September this year. The Norman Voyager is also painted in the colours of its new operator Celtic Link Ferries.

 

Many thanks,

 

Eleanor
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On the shipping database I use, the Norman Voyager is listed as having been owned and managed, since September 2008, by Fosse Way Shippping and Meridian Marine Management respectively. Both companies are based at the same address in Liverpool. Meridian is a joint-venture ship management company part-owned by the ships 'real' owner, Epic Shipping, which chartered it to LD Lines. LD Lines made an arrangement with Celtic Link earlier this year whereby Celtic Link would take on the charter of the ship, and operate the Cherbourg-Rosslare and Cherbourg-Portsmouth routes alongside Celtic Link's other ship, the ex-P&O freight ferry Diplomat. Such convoluted ownership arrangements are very common in the shipping industry.

When I saw Norman Voyager last week she had been, rather hurriedly, re-branded as Celtic Link Ferries, with a green funnel and the LD Lines logo on the sides painted out.

She sails under the UK flag, and is classed in Italy.

edit - The ship has been inspected again today (Friday) by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and is still detained. The surveyors have found "serious safety deficiencies" in operating/crewing practices and the ship itself.

 

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Nobody seems to know what is happening with the Portsmouth-Cherbourg service. Even the ship-spotter forums, which can usually be relied on to come up with speculation if not hard facts, are perplexed. There are plenty of rumours that this particular operation has ceased, but no firm information either way.

The ship was released from detention a few days ago, and AIS shows it en route from Rosslare to Cherbourg.
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Although there has\been no official notification from Celtic Link, messages on other forums suggest that people with bookings have been contacted by the booking agent, saying the Portsmouth-Cherbourg service has been suspended, and offering refunds.

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[quote user="Will"]On the shipping database I use, the Norman Voyager is listed as having been owned and managed, since September 2008, by Fosse Way Shippping and Meridian Marine Management respectively. Both companies are based at the same address in Liverpool.[/quote] Oi' thats me [:'(]
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