Messages

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Shipping News and information / Which ferry had the most modern interior for its time?

« on: July 24, 2015, 08:03:24 AM »

Of those that I know , I'd say possibly Stena's HSS fleet, or possibly a Sealink vessel (like the Fantasia). Did you get any other ships/ferries in the 80s or early 90s with interiors like these or more modern (and possibly with branding and modern facilities)?

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Shipping News and information / Re: What do the interiors of freight roro ferries look like?

« on: June 29, 2015, 08:19:06 PM »

Although none of your photos showed the bar/restaurant area, what I did see reminded me in fixtures of the Causeway, plus the other RoPax P&O vessels. So I'm assuming most are similar to it, possibly just scaled down a little (take away the club class lounge and merge the shop into the reception).

Onto another area of the freight topic, my parents claim to have been aboard a freight ferry from Cairnryan to Larne in about 1998. They recall being inside a small lounge area for the two hour duration, and my mum was the only female passenger aboard (they were only offered the ride due to an early arrival), making me assume it was the 12 passenger sort, or not much bigger. Does anybody have an idea of which ship this could have been (P&O) at this point? Was it probably the European Mariner, or another ship?

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Shipping News and information / Re: What do the interiors of freight roro ferries look like?

« on: June 29, 2015, 07:15:32 PM »

The vessels you mention are what are know as ro-pax vessels, rather than ro-ro vessels. These vessels are usually have all the facilities "full sized" passenger ferries, but lower capacity, and usually carry "normal" passengers as well as truckers. The configuration is usually decided by the operator based on the characteristic of the route. there is no hard and fast rule about when a vessel is classed as a ro-pax or a passenger ferry, indeed many vessels operate in both modes, sometimes seasonally, but even within the same 24 hour period. For example on the cross channel routes out of Dover vessels operate in full passenger mode during the day but in the early hours reduce their passenger capacity and operate in ro-pax mode.

If you want a rough rule of thumb, ro-ro vessels carry no more than 12 passengers, ro-pax vessels are mainly freight vessels with a limited passenger capacity, and passenger ferries have a much larger passenger capacity, but it's not an exact science, and there are no hard and fast rules.

So the first four mentioned are all RoPax. Would this term also apply for the European Causeway & Highlander, or is it full sized, like the Stena Superfast boats and the Ulysses?

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Shipping News and information / Re: What do the interiors of freight roro ferries look like?

« on: June 29, 2015, 06:47:16 PM »

What about that of ships such as the Stena Leader, Norbank, Norbay, European Seaway etc? These can all seat in the 1-300 area. I've seen occasional pictures, and most have some form of passenger facilities onboard.

Also, would P&O's slightly larger European Causeway/Highlander count as a passenger or freight vessel? I've travelled on these many times, and they have a bar at front, restaurant in middle, a small games arcade, a shop, a video lounge, a new "club class", and the rest is for truckers. Why can these only hold 400 or so people, vs the 1000 that most Irish Sea passenger vessels carry? Does the ship look like a freight or passenger ferry in the picture?

http://www.merseyshipping.co.uk/photofeatures/shipco/pando/causewayhighlander210212/Feb%2021%2012%20European%20Causeway%20at%20sea%204.JPG

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Shipping News and information / What do the interiors of freight roro ferries look like?

« on: June 29, 2015, 03:23:46 PM »

You know, the 12 passengers sort with a 20x20 metre accommodation area. I've never sailed on one of these, and struggle finding photos, so it would be interesting for somebody to give some info on the kind of internal layout and facilities located onboard. The closest I've ever got was by peering in from the car at P&O's former European Mariner while in Larne, and I saw a light in the ceiling. It was a small circular piece with a blue cover, if memory serves correctly.

How are these boats typically layed out? Are there ever any with interiors comparable to ferries geared at passengers, and what are some very basically furnished examples?

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Shipping News and information / Ships before stabilisers

« on: June 21, 2015, 07:25:50 PM »

When it comes to ships and ferries, a number of people have said that crossings were frequently unpleasant 30 years or so ago due to the lack of stabilisers which most now contain. Given that I was never on any crossings at this point in time, could somebody try and give some info on how an average crossing would seem without them, as you often used to find. Are there also any major ferries operating around the UK or Northern Europe which still lack them? I'm guessing that the HSS ships did, but for some reason every crossing that I was ever on did seem somewhat unpleasant, compared with other catamarans. Meanwhile the now 36-7 year old Stena Caledonia seemed extremely calm when on 5 years ago (although I suspect it has been fitted since). Is there a reason for this, or just chance of weather?

In addition, are the stabilisers used all the time, or only in rough weather?

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Shipping News and information / Re: The legality of photographing ships

« on: June 21, 2015, 06:20:28 PM »

The children issue is simply that of the parents to enforce, though. I've never seen any signs on the car deck of most ships explicitly banning photographs, only "no mobile phones", which is probably due to interference. Commercial gain is more likely an issue, but even then, if someone was to take just a sea picture, it would be unlikely any cause of infringement, although I don't know for sure.

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Shipping News and information / Re: The legality of photographing ships

« on: June 21, 2015, 05:25:18 PM »

So it's not technically illegal, although a company can ask you not to take photos onboard. Do any of these (ones I've sometimes travelled with) operators have such a rule banning photos, either of the interior or of the sea (or the publication of such photos):

*P&O Ferries
*Stena Line
*Irish Ferries
*Wightlink
*Red Funnel

In most cases, there have been "no photography" signs dotted around certain areas of the ports (the Irish sea ones in particular), but does this normally extend to the vessels of these operators?

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Shipping News and information / The legality of photographing ships

« on: June 21, 2015, 02:03:26 PM »

I've occasionally heard of cases where people have been told in the port that taking photos there is not allowed for counterterrorism purposes. As somebody who has had a long interest in ships (on and off), is this for the customs area/port terminal, the ships themselves, or both? I've taken photos aboard numerous ferries before and haven't been told of, and have even seen passengers with DSLRs and no concerned staff. So is there any technical legal prohibition of photographing ships in the UK, or publishing photos? Can you please give your experience and knowledge. Wikipedia doesn't say anything, so I'm asking here.

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Shipping News and information / Re: Photography Ban in Kings Lynn port.

« on: April 28, 2015, 03:58:51 PM »

Never had any trouble with taking pictures of ships in the ports or seen any reason prohibiting me, although I have seen signs prohibiting photography in the security area. In general it would normally be okay elsewhere, especially when the signs read "the usage of cameras in this area is prohibited", which hints that other areas (such as of the ships themselves) is okay.

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Shipping News and information / What is a rough ship crossing like?

« on: April 28, 2015, 03:54:37 PM »

What would the worst ferry crossing be that you've ever been on? What was the experience like in terms of how it seemed/felt in port, the movement out at sea, and whether the shops and restaurants were operating. All the crossings that I'm old enough to remember were in decent weather (wind usually 5-15mph, 40 at worst), but what is the experience like on a really rough day?

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Shipping News and information / Questions about the P&O European Causeway & Highlander

« on: March 31, 2015, 08:46:16 PM »

I went on one/possibly both of these in the early 2000s a number of times, but was quite young at this point, and therefore have some questions which I've been waiting a long time to know.

I was on the European Causeway last weekend and found it had been refurbished since my last ride a couple of years before. The walls were whiter, Poets Bar had been rebranded, and the seating had been replaced too. Under the previous look (many late 2000s images imaged xist), was this how it looked at the time of going into service (2000), or had it had a previous design? Again, I thought that the walls were whiter then, but I'm probably wrong here. Are there any images of its (or the Highlander's) interior when new?

Next, do these two ships count as freight or passenger ferries? Most competing boats in the Irish sea have a capacity of around 1000, but the P&O Larne - Cairnryan ones are only 410. Why, exactly?

Finally, does anyone know if the safety videos are identical now to when the ships were built? I saw one of them onboard the other day and it looked to be quite old, but I need confirmation...

Could another person help me find the answer to any of these if they know/have been one one of these two ferries...