Fleetwood and Its ships

Fleetwood as a Roll on Roll off terminal lived and died with a series of German built ferries which served the route to Larne for fully 35 years until their demise at the end of 2010. This site has been put together as a bit of a tribute to these three great workhorses and the RoRo terminal. It also adds a nod to another ship which served the port from the little landing stage next door, the wonderful Lady of Mann which operated seasonally to the Isle of Man from 1976 to 2005.

Thanks for the memories Fleetwood !

About the ships

Stena Pioneer

Stena Pioneer was built for Stena Line but sold before delivery in 1975 to P&O's new Irish Sea Operation Pandoro to inaugurate the Fleetwood – Larne service from the newly completed RoRo terminal at the Lancashire Port. The ship was so successful on the run that she was sent to the Tyne in 1980 to be lengthened by just over 15 meters.

In 1989 she was chartered to B&I Line to operate a joint service between the Irish company and Pandoro on the Liverpool – Dublin route. I recall speaking to an engineer for the company at the time who stated that she didn't exactly come back from the 4 year stint in the best mechanical health but true to the history of the P&O operation at the time she was rebuilt to meet solas regulations.

1989 brought a new name to Pandoro operations – P&O Irish Sea. In 1995 she was rebuilt again this time with a rather ungainly but no doubt hugely profitable additional cargo deck above the weather desk. She was the only one of the three treated this way.

In 1998 in line with other units of P&O the ship acquired a new name - European Pioneer, RoRo units were all given European named whist passenger vessels received 'Pride of' names. In 2004, the Fleetwood – Larne operation was sold to Stena Line in a £50 million transaction which not only included all three fleetwood ships but also the nearly new European Ambassador and the European Envoy from the failed Mostyn – Dublin service.

The ship continued on the Fleetwood route along with her two sisters although her name was changed to Stena Pioneer. In late 2010 it was announced that the Fleetwood – Larne service would close and the ships would most likely be sold for breaking. She retired to Belfast to await her fate but it was a kind fate because the ships were part of a complex investigation by the Competition authorities in the UK who questioned the routes closure after Stena Line acquired the parallel Liverpool – Belfast service from DFDS. The ships were forbidden from being sold for three months until the commission decided the outcome of the investigation.

In June 2011, the ship was sold to Russian interests and renamed Ant 1. She sailed from Belfast to the Black Sea for her new adventure.

Stena Leader

The Stena Leader was also delivered new to Pandoro in 1975 as the Buffalo and also operated on the new Fleetwood – Larne service. The RoRo linkspan was actually completed in November 1974 at a cost of £1.25 million. The shallow draft of these ships made them ideal for the Fleetwood port because it requires frequent dredging to enable it to remain operational as it is effectively accessed through a channel built in a sand bed !

The ship was lengthened twice, once in 1989 from 125m to 141.81m and again in 1998 to 1.565m effectively the maximum length allowed at the Fleetwood terminal due to the restricted turning circle at the linkspan. The ships were all stern loaders and sailing bow first down the Fleetwood channel had to make a 180 degree turn off the linkspan to berth.

Like her sisters she was withdrawn at the end of 2010 and sold to Russian interests in June 2011 receiving the name Anna Marine. She sailed from Sevastopol at the end of the month arriving on 1^st July.

Stena Seafarer

The Stena Seafarer was the third ship in the series all of built by J J Sietas in Hamburg. Unlike the other two she was chartered to Union Steamship Company and sailed for an Australian charter as Union Melbourne before returning to Europe in 1980 and sale to Pandoro. She was renamed Puma a name originally planned for one of the company's new Japanese built ships which instead became Tipperary.

Like the Bison the ship was also lengethened to 141.8m in 1981. And again modified for Solas reasons in 1995.

In 1989 the ship was renamed European Seafarer and in 2004, Stena Pioneer. In 2011 she two was sold to Russian interests as Ant 2.