MS ''Free Enterprise'' (I) was a cross-Channel ferry operated by Townsend Brothers and later Townsend Thoresen between 1962 and 1980. She was their first purpose built roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry. She was sold to Greece in 1980, where she served until being sold for scrap in 2013.

History

''Free Enterprise'' was built in 1962 by I.C.H. Holland, Werf Gusto Yard,

Schiedam Schiedam () is a large town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of the city Rotterdam, east of the town Vlaardingen and south of the city Delft. In the south, Schi ...

, the Netherlands, for Townsend Brothers Ferries. She was their first purpose built roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry and entered service in 1962 on the

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. ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

route. On delivery of in May 1965, she was renamed ''Free Enterprise I''. In 1968, the company became

European Ferries European Ferries Group plc was a company that operated in passenger and freight ferries, harbour operation and property management in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was taken over by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation C ...

, continuing to operate services as

Townsend Thoresen European Ferries Group plc was a company that operated in passenger and freight ferries, harbour operation and property management in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was taken over by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co ...

and ''Free Enterprise I'' appeared briefly in the 1969 film classic ''

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy Caper story, caper film written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson (film director), Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres ...

'', starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

and

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...

. In February 1980, ''Free Enterprise I'' was sold to Ventouris Group as the ''Kimolos''. She ran aground twice in 1983. In 1993 she was registered to Hellenic Coastal Lines (Ventouris Sons Shipping) receiving the name Ergina. In 1995 she was briefly given the name ''Ventouris'' before re-entering service with Ventouris Lines as ''Methodia II''. In 1997 ''Methodia II'' was sold to Sinderella NE, Piraeus, and renamed ''Kallisti''. ''Kallisti'' was laid up in

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

in 2003. In 2005, she was registered to Ionian Lines Cruises & Ferry. She served for two years before being laid up in 2007. She never returned to service and was sold for scrap in June 2013.

Layout

''Free Enterprise'' had lanes for 120 cars on two decks.

Service

''Free Enterprise'' operated on the

service until 1979. During 1975 and 1976 ''Free Enterprise I'' spent time on the

Cairnryan Cairnryan (;
or ) is a village in the historical county of < ...

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

route. From 1977 until sale, she was on stand-by duties and then laid up at

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

. From 1981, ''Kimolos'' operated between

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

and the

Cyclades Islands The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate in ...

. After 1997, ''Kallisti'' was used during the summer on cruises between

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and

Santorini Santorini (, ), officially Thira (, ) or Thera, is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from the mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera. It is the southern ...

, and in winter between

Lavrio Lavrio, Lavrion or Laurium (; (later ); from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is part of Athens metropolitan area and the seat of the municipality of Lavreotiki ...

Tinos Tinos ( ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It forms part of the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2021 census population of 8,934 inhabitants. Tinos is famous amo ...

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. At the 2021 census, there were 10,704 inhabitants, most of ...

. In 2007, ''Okeanis'' was operating as a day cruise ship. ''Okeanis'' was laid up at the end of the 2007 season and never returned to service, despite plans to resume day cruises. She was sold for scrap in May 2013, being towed to the dismantling port of Aliaga on 1 June 2013.

Film and Media

The ship features in the 1969 film ''The Italian Job'', taking the criminal mob and their cars across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

en route to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Free Enterprise 1962 Ferries of England Ferries of France Ferries of Greece 1962 ships Ships built in Schiedam