''Express 1'' is a high-speed

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

operated by Molslinjen between

Rønne Rønne () is the largest town on the Denmark, Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,675 (1 January 2025). It was a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a Bornholm County, county (D ...

and

Ystad Ystad () is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attracti ...

. Along with its sister ship, the ''Express 2'', they are the world's largest diesel-powered catamarans.

History

''Express 1'' was built in 2009 at the Incat Yards in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

as ''MGC 66'' for MGC Chartering Limited. Upon completion the vessel was chartered to French ferry operator LD Lines and renamed ''Norman Arrow''. In June 2009 the ''Norman Arrow'' entered service between

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

and

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

. For the 2010 season the ''Norman Arrow'' was transferred to the Portsmouth -

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

route. On 28 August 2010 the ''Norman Arrow'' hit a mooring dolphin whilst berthing in

, resulting in structural damage to the vessel.Marine Accident Investigation Branc
Current investigations
accessed 22 March 2011 The ''Norman Arrow'' sailed to Brest for repairs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Express 1 Ships built by Incat Incat high-speed craft 2008 ships