MS Isle of Inishmore (1996)

MS Isle of Inishmore is a ro-ro ferry owned by Irish Ferries and operated on their Dover-Calais service. At the time of her introduction, she was the largest car ferry operating in Northern Europe.[1] She is named after Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. The name of the ferry is tautologous, since "Inishmore" derives from the Irish for "big island". Despite not being sister ships, the ship's design is copied from the Stena Line vessel Stena Jutlandica up until the superstructure.

For other ships with the same name, see MS Isle of Inishmore.

'Isle of Inishmore' at Rosslare.
MS Isle of Inishmore heading towards Rosslare.
History
NameIsle of Inishmore
OperatorIrish Ferries
Port of registry
Route
BuilderVan der Giessen de Noord
CostIR£60 million
Yard number968
Laid downDecember 1995
Launched4 October 1996
CompletedFebruary 1997
In serviceMarch 1997
IdentificationIMO number: 9142605
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Tonnage34,031 GT 5,860 DWT
Length182.5 m (598 ft 9 in)
Beam27.8 m (91 ft 2 in)
Draught5.8 m (19 ft 0 in)
Decks11
Deck clearance
  • 4.9 m (16 ft 1 in) (decks 3 and 5 w/o mezzanine deck)
  • 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) (mezzanine deck 6 and deck 5 when in use)
RampsInternal 3.23 m (10 ft 7 in) wide ramp for single-level loading
Ice class1A
Installed power4x Sulzer 8ZA40S diesel engines, 5,760 kW each (total 23,040kW) + 2 LIPS 2,400kW bow thrusters
Propulsion2x LIPS 4.8m four-blade variable pitch propellers
Speed21.5 knots
Capacity
  • 2,200 passengers
  • 186 berths
  • 856 cars
  • 122 16.2 metre units/lorries
  • 2,890 lane metres (2,060 main + 830 mezzanine)
Crewup to 140
NotesShares hull form with Stena Jutlandica

Design and construction

Isle of Inishmore was constructed by Van der Giessen de Noord in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, at a cost of IR£60 million.[1] Construction commenced in December 1995, and the vessel was launched in October 1996.[2][3] She was delivered to Dublin in February 1997, before entering service in March 1997.[4][5]

Power is provided by four Sulzer diesel engines. Each round trip between Rosslare and Pembroke requires 25 tonnes of marine diesel oil.[6]

Career

Isle of Inishmore began her career on Irish Ferries' Dublin-Holyhead route as the flagship of the company's fleet, replacing the 1995 built Isle of Innisfree.[7] Following the introduction of the larger MS Ulysses onto the route in March 2001, Isle of Inishmore was redeployed to the Rosslare-Pembroke route.[8] She was replaced on the Pembroke Dock to Rosslare crossing by the Blue Star 1.[9] The chartering of the Blue Star 1 freed up Isle of Inishmore from the Pembroke-Rosslare crossing, and, still under the Irish Ferries brand, will be redeployed on the Dover-Calais crossing.[10] After finishing works in Denmark, involving replacing the stern ramp with sliding doors and installing a so-called "cow catcher" at the bow to fit at both Dover and Calais, the Inishmore arrived in Dover on 19 June 2021, and conducted berthing trials at both Dover and Calais. The vessel then entered service on 29 June.[11]

Incidents

In 2006, the vessel broke its moorings and ran aground, with minor damage.

On 30 July 2008 a fire broke out on board the Isle of Inishmore at Pembroke Dock at approximately 02.30am, in a thermal oil boiler located adjacent to the engine room of the vessel. The function of this boiler is to preheat the fuel oil prior to its use in the ship's main engines. The ship was getting ready to sail for Rosslare at 02:45am, with some 227 passengers and 89 crew on board. All passengers and crew were put on standby. At 4:20am the fire was brought under control with nobody having been injured. The 02:45am Pembroke to Rosslare and the 08:45am Rosslare to Pembroke crossings were both cancelled as a result.

References
  1. "New superferry for ICG". The Irish Times. Ireland. 27 September 1995. p. 15. Irish Continental is gearing up for a major assault on the cross channel ferry market, with the decision to build a new state of the art superferry which will be introduced on the Dublin Holyhead route in 1997. ICG announced yesterday that it has placed a Pounds 60 million order with the Dutch shipyard Van Der Giessen for a 33,000 ton superferry which will be able to carry 2,200 passengers, 855 cars and 122 freight units. When the new ferry comes on stream in 1997, it will be the biggest operating in north west Europe.
  2. "New £60m vessel to take Irish Sea by storm". Irish Independent. Ireland. 4 October 1996. A new pounds 60m super ferry commissioned by Irish Ferries, which is set to go into service on the Irish Sea early next year, will be unveiled in Rotterdam, Holland today. The ship - the Isle of Inishmore - will be the largest multi-purpose passenger car ferry operating in Northern Europe and the largest ferry every to operate on the Irish Sea.
  3. O'Halloran, Marie; yeates, Padraig (4 October 1996). "Irish Ferries to launch Pounds 60 million ship today". The Irish Times. Ireland. p. 2. Irish Ferries launches its new Pounds 60 million superferry in Rotterdam today. The Isle of Inishmore, with a capacity for up to 2,300 passengers and crew, will go into service on the Dublin Holyhead route next February. It will complete the Irish Sea crossing in three hours ... It was built by the Dutch shipbuilders Van der Giessen de Noord, the same yard which built Irish Ferries' other vessel, the Isle of Innisfree last year. The Isle of Innisfree, which currently operates on the Dublin-Holyhead route, will transfer to the Rosslare Pembroke route when the new ship goes into service. The new vessel can carry 550 passengers more than the Isle of Innisfree and can carry up to 856 cars and 122 trucks. It is 600 feet (180 metres) long and 90 feet (27 metres) wide and three times higher than the GPO at 146 feet (45 metres).
  4. Mott, David (4 March 1997). "Irish car ferry makes maiden voyage". Lloyd's List: 3. ISSN 0144-820X. Retrieved 26 December 2009. Irish Ferries' Pounds 60m (Dollars 97m) ISLE OF INISHMORE has made her maiden voyage on the Holyhead-Dublin route after delivery from Dutch shipyard Van der Giessen de Noord, writes David Mott.
  5. "Isle of Inishmore | Irish Ferries". 2 August 2021.
  6. "Our Ships: Isle of Inishmore". Irish Ferries. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  7. Plummer, Russell (5 October 1995). "Irish Ferries launches new flagship". Lloyd's List: 3. ISSN 0144-820X. Retrieved 30 December 2009. Irish Ferries launched its new IrPounds 60m (Dollars 96.7m) flagship ISLE OF INISHMORE II yesterday as staff staged a sit-in at two of the company's Dublin offices in protest at the closure of winter services between Ireland and France ... With a service speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph), ISLE OF INISHMORE will complete the Holyhead-Dublin journey in just over three hours with high levels of passenger comfort including a glass enclosed sky lounge on the top deck.
  8. "Giant vessel raises stakes on the Irish Sea routes". Lloyd's List: 18. 27 July 2001. ISSN 0144-820X. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2009. Replacement of the 1997-built Isle of Inishmore II with the 4,000 lane m Ulysses on the Dublin-Holyhead route in March increased freight capacity by 80% to 240 freight units, but still only provided two round sailings in 24 hours. Isle of Inishmore was then moved to the southern corridor on the Rosslare-Pembroke service, increasing capacity on this route to 122 freight units and allowing the 1995-built Isle of Innisfree to be put up for charter, which is expected to be concluded shortly.
  9. "Irish Ferries introduces a newer and faster ship onto the Rosslare - Pembroke Route". Irish Ferries. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  10. "Irish Ferries to Enter Competitive Cross-Channel Market". 26 March 2021.
  11. "MV Isle of Inishmore – Past and Present". 29 April 2020.
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