MV ''Portaferry II'' is a passenger and car ferry operated by Transport NI. This ferry serves the

Portaferry–Strangford ferry The Portaferry–Strangford ferry service crosses Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland at its narrowest point, close to where the lough joins the Irish Sea. The Roll-on/roll-off, ferry links the two disconnected sections of the A2 road (Northern ...

route across the mouth of

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough () is a large sea lough or inlet in County Down, in the east of Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in Ireland and the wider British Isles, covering . The lough is almost fully enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and is linke ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, a service which has been in operation since the 12th century.

History

After years of service, MV ''Strangford Ferry'', which was launched on 6 September 1969, began to show signs of age. A second, smaller ship, MV ''Portaferry Ferry'', also operating on the Portaferry - Strangford route, had insufficient capacity to take over full service for route, so a new ship was needed. This new vessel was the ''Portaferry II'', built by

McTay Marine McTay Marine was a shipbuilder in Bromborough, Merseyside from 1974 to 2016. History McTay Engineering had been set up in 1963 by James McBurney and Jim Taylor. McTay Engineering specialised in the construction of storage tanks and associated pl ...

of Merseyside, at a cost of a £2.7 million. She entered service on 18 December 2001, replacing the aging MV ''Portaferry Ferry'' and relegated the MV ''Strangford Ferry'', to a support role.

Details

The ''Portaferry II'' has a gross tonnage of 312 tons, a hull length of , a beam of , a draught of and a capacity of 260 passengers and 20 cars. She is propelled by a pair of

Voith Schneider propeller The Voith Schneider Propeller (VSP) is a specialized marine propulsion system (MPS) manufactured by the Voith Group based on a cyclorotor design. It is highly maneuverable, being able to change the direction of its thrust almost instantaneousl ...

s, driven by diesel engines, and is registered in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. Like her predecessors, due to the short travel time the only onboard facilities are a passenger waiting area and a gangway on one side of the ship with benches and placards to inform readers of the lough's wildlife.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portaferry Ferries of Northern Ireland 2001 ships Ro-ro ships Ships built in England