Townsend-Thoresen Ferries Postcards

This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the freight ferries of Townsend-Thoresen, including those with limited passenger accommodation. Passenger ferries are shown on the Townsend Thoresen Passenger Ferries page. An alphabetical list of ships shown on this page is shown below. The Table beneath gives links to complete postcard history pages on selected individual ships. Below the table are official postcards of the fleet in chronological order.

Townsend-Thoresen was formed in 1968 when Townsend Brothers Ferries combined with Thoresen Car Ferries. The company was acquired by P&O Ferries in 1987. This page only shows postcards in Townsend-Thoresen colours - the earlier history of ships acquired at the amalgamation are shown on the Townsend Brothers Ferries and Thoresen Car Ferries pages.
Ship Names on This Page:-
Baltic Ferry (1980-1987)
Bardic Ferry (1971-1976)
Cerdic Ferry (1) (1971-1981)
Cerdic Ferry (2) (1985-1987)
Doric Ferry (1) (1971-1981)
Doric Ferry (2) (1986-1987)
European Gateway (1975-1982)
European Trader (1975-1987)
European Clearway (1976-1987)
European Enterprise (1978-1987)
Europic Ferry (1971-1987)
Gaelic Ferry (1971-1985)
Ionic Ferry (1) (1971-1976)
Nordic Ferry (1980-1987)
Viking IV (1968-1981)
Viking Trader (1980-1981)

Associated Pages:-
Townsend Thoresen Passenger Ferries
P&O Ferries - P&O Ferries Header Page
P&O Dover
P&O Felixstowe
Thoresen Car Ferries
Townsend Brothers Ferries
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page

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powered by FreeFind Table of Ship History Pages Name Other names Built Baltic Ferry Stena Transporter, Finnrose, Pride of Suffolk, European Diplomat, Diplomat 1978 Cerdic Ferry Alpha Enterprise, Syria, Stena Transporter, European Freeway, Stena Partner 1978 Doric Ferry Stena Runner, Alpha Progress, Hellas, European Tideway, Stena Transfer 1977 Dragon Ionic Ferry, Viscountess/Charm M, Millenium Express II 1967 Free Enterprise Free Enterprise I, Kimolos, Ergina, Methodia II, Kallisti 1962 Free Enterprise I Free Enterprise, Kimolos, Ergina, Methodia II, Kallisti 1962 Free Enterprise II Moby Blu 1965 Free Enterprise III Tamira, Mona's Isle, Al Fahad 1966 Free Enterprise IV Falster Link, Tag Al Salam 1969 Free Enterprise V Pride of Hythe, Laburnum, Tagla 1970 Free Enterprise VI Pride of Sandwich, Pride of Ailsa, Pride of Al Salam 95 1972 Free Enterprise VII Pride of Walmer, Pride of Rathlin, BSP III 1973 Free Enterprise VIII Pride of Canterbury, Romilda 1974 Ionic Ferry Dragon, Viscountess/Charm M, Millenium Express II 1967 Leopard Countess M, Dimitra A, Mega I, Talya I 1967 Nordic Ferry Merzario Hispana, Pride of Flanders, Flanders, Stena Transporter 1978 Panther Djursland, Lasse, Lasse II, St Sunniva, Faye 1972 Tiger Kattegat (II), Ålandsfärjan 1972 Viking I Viking Victory, European Glory, Neptunia, Media II 1964 Viking II Earl William, Pearl William 1964 Viking III Terje Vigen, Scandinavia, Fenno Star, Sandefjord 1965 Viking Valiant Pride of Le Havre, Pride of Cherbourg (2), Pride of Al Salam 1 1975 Viking Venturer Pride of Hampshire, Pride of El Salam 2 1975 Viking Victory Viking I, European Glory, Neptunia, Media II 1964 Viking Viscount Pride of Winchester, Vitsentzos Kornaros 1976 Viking Voyager Pride of Cherbourg (1), Bañaderos, Barlovento 1976 Townsend-Thoresen Fleet List Freight Ferries (ro-ro and ro-pax) Viking IV (1968-1981)

Viking IV was built in 1967 by Trosvik Verksted A/S, Brevik, Norway for Otto Thoresen's freight services between Southampton-Cherbourg. She passed to Townsend Thoresen in 1968, and subsequently worked Dover-Zeebrugge and Felixstowe-Europoort. She was sold in 1981.


Harvey-Barton postcard of Thoresen freight ferry Viking IV (right) and Normandy Feriies' Leopard (left).






Bardic Ferry (1971-1976)

Bardic Ferry was built in 1957 by Wm. Denny & Bros, Dumbarton for the Atlantic Steam Navigation. She entered service on their Transport Ferry Service route between Preston-Larne, transferring to the Tilbury-Antwerpen route between 1958-61. Bardic Ferry then reverted to Preston-Larne, with some sailings to Belfast from 1967. In 1971 ASN operations were combined with Townsend-Thoresen, and Bardic Ferry received their orange livery. In 1974, Bardic Ferry transferred to the Cairnryan-Larne route. She was sold in 1976 to Fratelli Cosulich, Genoa, and renamed Nasim II.


Postcards to be added!




Cerdic Ferry (1) (1971-1981)

Cerdic Ferry was built in 1961 by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Troon for the Atlantic Steam Navigation. Her sistership was the Doric Ferry. She entered service on their Transport Ferry Service route between Tilbury-Antwerpen/Rotterdam, transferring to the Felixstowe-Rotterdam route in 1962. Cerdic Ferry was chartered Canadian National Railways in 1970. In 1971 ASN operations were combined with Townsend-Thoresen, and Cerdic Ferry received their orange livery. She was sold in 1981, with her sister, and entered service for Libra maritime between Brindisi-Igoumenitsa as Atlas I. She was later owned by Ventouris as Sifnos , Sifnos Express. and Igoumenitsa Express. In 1998 she was renamed Orestes.


Postcards to be added!




Doric Ferry (1971-1981)

Doric Ferry was built in 1962 by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Troon for the Atlantic Steam Navigation. Her sistership was the Cerdic Ferry. She entered service on their Transport Ferry Service route between Preston-Larne, transferring to the Tilbury-Antwerpen between 1962-68. In 1971 ASN operations were combined with Townsend-Thoresen, and Doric Ferry received their orange livery. She was sold in 1981, with her sister, and entered service for Libra maritime between Brindisi-Igoumenitsa as Atlas II. In 1988 she was renamed Alekos, for Cycladic Lines. She was sold again the following year to Agoudimos Lines and renamed Kapetan Alexandros. She was laid up in 2000, and renamed Kapetan Alexandros A in 2002.


Postcards to be added!




Europic Ferry (1971-1987)

Europic Ferry was built in 1968 by Swan Hunter, Newcastle upon Tyne for the Atlantic Steam Navigation. She entered service on their Transport Ferry Service route between Felixstowe-Europoort. In 1971 ASN operations were combined with Townsend-Thoresen, and Europic Ferry received their orange livery. She was transferred in 1981 to their Southampton-Le Havre service. In 1982 Europic Ferry was chartered by the British Government for service during the Falklands war. In 1983 she was transferred to Cairnryan-Larne service. In 1987 registered owners became P&O European Ferries, and she was renamed European Freighter in 1992. The following year, she was sold to Med Link Lines and renamed Afrodite II.


Postcards to be added!




Gaelic Ferry (1971-1985)

Gaelic Ferry was built in 1964 by Swan Hunter, Newcastle upon Tyne for the Atlantic Steam Navigation. She entered service on their Transport Ferry Service route between Tilbury-Rotterdam/Antwerpen, moving to Felixstowe-Europoort the following year. In 1971 ASN operations were combined with Townsend-Thoresen, and Gaelic Ferry received their orange livery. She worked on many different Townsend-Thoresen routes in the 1980s, until sold in 1987. She was broken up in 1988.


Postcards to be added!




Ionic Ferry (1971-1976)

Ionic Ferry was built in 1958 by Wm. Denny & Bros, Dumbarton for the Atlantic Steam Navigation. She entered service on their Transport Ferry Service route between Preston-Larne. In 1971 ASN operations were combined with Townsend-Thoresen, and Ionic Ferry received their orange livery. In 1973, Ionic Ferry transferred to the Cairnryan-Larne route. She was sold in 1976 to Fratelli Cosulich, Genoa, and renamed Kamasin. She was renamed Tamerlane in 1980, and broken up in 1988.


Postcards to be added!




European Gateway (1975-1982)

European Gateway was built 1975 by Schichau Unterweser AG, Bremerhaven, for the Townsend-Thoresen service between Felixstowe and Europort. During the summer of 1980, she operated between Cairnryan-Larne. European Gateway then returned to Felixstowe service until 1982 when she was involved in a collision with the Speedlink Vanguard off Felixstowe. She sank with the loss of six lives. After salvage, she was rebuilt and entered service as the Flavia between Ancona-Igoumenitsa-Patras in 1984. In 1988 she was sold to GT-Link, entering service as the Travemünde Link between Gedser-Travemünde. In 1992, registered ownership passed to Europa Linien, and she was renamed Rostock Link when the German port changed to Rostock. In 1996, ownership of Europa Linien passed to DSB (later Scandlines). In 1999 Rostock Link was chartered to Mols Linien for their Århus-Kalundborg route under the marketing name Kalundborg Link. In 2000 she was sold to Agoudimos Lines, and was renamed Penelope A for a route Igoumenitsa-Brindisi.


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European Trader (1975-1987)


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European Clearway (1976-1987)


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European Enterprise (1978-1987)


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Viking Trader (1980-1981)


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Baltic Ferry (1980-1987)


Baltic Ferry was one of a class of 11 sister ships built by Hyundai in South Korea between 1977/78. They were built by Stena Line for charter or sale, and she was launched in 1978 as the Stena Trader, soon being renamed Stena Transporter by Stena Cargo Ltd. Her first charter was as Finnrose with Atlantic Cargo. In 1980 she reverted to Stena Transporter. Later in 1980, Stena Transporter was rebuilt with extra passenger and freight accommodation at Hapag Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, before passing to Townsend Thoresen European Ferries, for Felixstowe-Europoort service as Baltic Ferry. In 1986, Baltic Ferry was converted into a fairly basic passenger ferry (cabins had minimal private facilities) by the addition of accommodation blocks on the upper freight deck. She transferred to the Felixstowe-Zeebrugge service, replacing two of the Super-Vikings which moved to Portsmouth. In 1992, the charter passed to P&O European Ferries when P&O acquired the Townsend Thoresen routes, and she was renamed Pride of Suffolk. In 1995, the Felixstowe-Zeebrugge service reverted to freight only, and Pride of Suffolk had her passenger accommodation removed the following year at Harland & Wolff. She returned to service on the Felixstowe-Europoort service. In 2001, Pride of Suffolk moved to the Liverpool-Dublin route as the European Diplomat. In 2002, European Diplomat moved to the Rosslare-Cherbourg route. European Diplomat was laid up at Birkenhead in December 2004, being sold to Celtic Link Ferries in January 2005. She was renamed Diplomat and returned to the Rosslare-Cherbourg route.

Complete history of Baltic Ferry


Ramsey postcard of Baltic Ferry in the Falklands Islands campaign.
She was requisitioned by the MOD as a stores ship - note the Harrier jet.





Nordic Ferry (1980-1987)

Nordic Ferry was one of a class of 11 sister ships built by Hyundai in South Korea between 1977/78. They were built by Stena Line for charter or sale. Her first charter was as Merzario Hispania with Merzario Lines. In January 1980 she was cahertered to Townsend Thoresen European Ferries, for Felixstowe-Europoort service as Nordic Ferry. In December 1980, Nordic Ferry was rebuilt with extra passenger and freight accommodation at Hapag Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, returning to Townsend Thoresen European Ferries in February 1981. In 1986, Nordic Ferry was converted into a fairly basic passenger ferry (cabins had minimal private facilities) by the addition of accommodation blocks on the upper freight deck. She transferred to the Felixstowe-Zeebrugge service, replacing two of the Super-Vikings which moved to Portsmouth. In 1987, the charter passed to P&O European Ferries when P&O acquired the Townsend Thoresen routes, and in 1992 she was renamed Pride of Flanders. In 1995, the Felixstowe-Zeebrugge service reverted to freight only, and Pride of Flanders had her passenger accommodation removed the following year at Harland & Wolff. She returned to service on the Felixstowe-Europoort service. In July 2002, Pride of Flanders was sold to Stena Line and temporarily renamed Flanders. The UK terminal was switched from Felixstowe to Harwich. Flanders was renamed Stena Transporter and was chartered to Scandlines for service between Trelleborg and Travemünde from September to November 2002, after which she returned to Harwich-Europoort. From April to July 2003, Stena Transporter ran between Dublin and Holyhead.

Complete history of Nordic Ferry


Photograph of Nordic Ferry leaving Felixstowe in 1985.
Photo: © Ian Boyle.


Photograph of Nordic Ferry leaving Felixstowe in 1985.
Photo: © Ian Boyle.


Photograph of Nordic Ferry leaving Felixstowe in 1985.
Photo: © Ian Boyle.


Photo of Nordic Ferry at Felixstowe in February 1986, shortly before addition of passenger accommodation.
Photo: © Ian Boyle.


Photo of Nordic Ferry at Felixstowe in 1986, after addition of passenger accommodation.
Photo: © Ian Boyle.






Cerdic Ferry (2) (1985-1987)

Cerdic Ferry (2) was one of a class of 11 sister ships built by Hyundia in South Korea between 1977/78. They were built by Stena Line for charter or sale, and her first charter was to Arghiris Line of Greece, as the Alpha Enterprise. In 1979 she had a brief charter to North Sea Ferries. Alpha Enterprise was then rebuilt with extra passenger and freight accommodation at Hapag Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, before passing to Hellas Ferries as the Syria, for a service from Greece to Syria. Her sistership Stena Transfer also worked for Hellas Ferries as Hellas (2). In 1981 Syria returned to Hapag Lloyd Werft for lengthening. From 1982-1983 she was chartered to Townsend Thoresen European Ferries, for Felixstowe-Europoort service, before returning to Stena Line, who renamed her Stena Transporter. She then had short charters to TT-SAGA Line and Cobelfret in 1984. In 1985 Stena Transporter was chartered by Townsend Thoresen European Ferries, becoming the Cerdic Ferry (2) on services from Felixstowe. In 1992, the charter passed to P&O European Ferries when P&O acquired the Townsend Thoresen routes, and she was renamed European Freeway. In 1994 European Freeway was puchased by P&O, remaining on Felixstowe-Rotterdam (Europoort service). In 2002, the P&O Felixstowe services were sold to Stena Line. European Freeway was briefly renamed Freeway before becoming Stena Partner in January 2003. The UK terminal for the Europoort service was moved to Harwich.

Complete history of Cerdic Ferry (2)


Photograph of Cerdic Ferry, in Townsend Thoresen colours.
Photo: © Andreas Wörteler.
Scan: Fakta om Fartyg.


Chantry Classics postcard of Cerdic Ferry, in Towsend Thoresen orange, but with P&O funnel.





Doric Ferry (1986-1987)

Doric Ferry was one of a class of 11 sister ships built by Hyundai in South Korea between 1977/78. They were built by Stena Line for charter or sale, and Stena Runner's first charter was to Arghiris Line of Greece, as the Alpha Progress. In 1979 she had a brief charter to Tor Line. Alpha Progress was then rebuilt with extra passenger and freight accommodation at Hapag Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, before passing to Hellas Ferries as the Hellas (2), for a service from Greece to Syria. In 1981 Hellas returned to Hapag Lloyd Werft for lengthening. In 1981 she was chartered to Townsend Thoresen European Ferries, returning later to Hellas ferries. Years for which she operated as Hellas (2) were 1979, 1980-1982 and 1983-1986, with some of the intermediate years being covered by the Stena Nordica of 1975, which also operated with Hellas Ferries as Hellas (1). In 1986 Hellas (2) was purchased by Townsend Thoresen European Ferries, becoming the Doric Ferry on services from Felixstowe. In 1992, the charter passed to P&O European Ferries when P&O acquired the Townsend Thoresen routes, and she was renamed European Tideway. In 1994 European Tideway was purchased by P&O, remaining on Felixstowe-Rotterdam (Europoort service). In 2002, the P&O Felixstowe services were sold to Stena Line. European Tideway was briefly renamed Ideway before becoming Stena Transfer. The UK terminal for the Europoort service was moved to Harwich.
Complete history of Doric Ferry


Photograph of Doric Ferry, in Townsend Thoresen orange, but with P&O funnel.
Photo: © Cees De Bijl.






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Name	Other names	Built
Baltic Ferry	Stena Transporter, Finnrose, Pride of Suffolk, European Diplomat, Diplomat	1978
Cerdic Ferry	Alpha Enterprise, Syria, Stena Transporter, European Freeway, Stena Partner	1978
Doric Ferry	Stena Runner, Alpha Progress, Hellas, European Tideway, Stena Transfer	1977
Dragon	Ionic Ferry, Viscountess/Charm M, Millenium Express II	1967
Free Enterprise	Free Enterprise I, Kimolos, Ergina, Methodia II, Kallisti	1962
Free Enterprise I	Free Enterprise, Kimolos, Ergina, Methodia II, Kallisti	1962
Free Enterprise II	Moby Blu	1965
Free Enterprise III	Tamira, Mona's Isle, Al Fahad	1966
Free Enterprise IV	Falster Link, Tag Al Salam	1969
Free Enterprise V	Pride of Hythe, Laburnum, Tagla	1970
Free Enterprise VI	Pride of Sandwich, Pride of Ailsa, Pride of Al Salam 95	1972
Free Enterprise VII	Pride of Walmer, Pride of Rathlin, BSP III	1973
Free Enterprise VIII	Pride of Canterbury, Romilda	1974
Ionic Ferry	Dragon, Viscountess/Charm M, Millenium Express II	1967
Leopard	Countess M, Dimitra A, Mega I, Talya I	1967
Nordic Ferry	Merzario Hispana, Pride of Flanders, Flanders, Stena Transporter	1978
Panther	Djursland, Lasse, Lasse II, St Sunniva, Faye	1972
Tiger	Kattegat (II), Ålandsfärjan	1972
Viking I	Viking Victory, European Glory, Neptunia, Media II	1964
Viking II	Earl William, Pearl William	1964
Viking III	Terje Vigen, Scandinavia, Fenno Star, Sandefjord	1965
Viking Valiant	Pride of Le Havre, Pride of Cherbourg (2), Pride of Al Salam 1	1975
Viking Venturer	Pride of Hampshire, Pride of El Salam 2	1975
Viking Victory	Viking I, European Glory, Neptunia, Media II	1964
Viking Viscount	Pride of Winchester, Vitsentzos Kornaros	1976
Viking Voyager	Pride of Cherbourg (1), Bañaderos, Barlovento	1976