MS ''GNV Allegra'' is a

cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while ot ...

owned by

MSC MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MS ...

. The ship was built by

Wärtsilä Marine Wärtsilä Marine ( fi, Wärtsilä Meriteollisuus; sv, Wärtsilä Marinindustri) was a Finnish shipbuilding company. The company was created in 1987 in order to improve shipbuilding productivity by combining the Wärtsilä and Valmet yards und ...

Perno shipyard Perno shipyard is a shipyard in Turku, southwest Finland, that specialises in building cruise ships, passenger ferries, special vessels and offshore projects. The yard area is . The yard is operated by Meyer Turku Oy. The dry dock is long, wid ...

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, Finland for

Jahre Line Jahre Line was a cruiseferry line operating on routes to and from Norway between 1961 and 1990. In 1990, it merged with Norway Line Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territor ...

as MS ''Kronprins Harald''. In 1991 she passed under ownership of Color Line, for whom she sailed until sold to

Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port– Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke as well as Dublin ...

in 2007. She was sold by Irish Ferries to

Mediterranean Shipping Company Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (MSC) is an international shipping line founded by Gianluigi Aponte in Italy in 1970, with headquarters in Switzerland since 1978. The privately held company is owned by the Aponte family. It has been the larg ...

(MSC) in 2019 and renamed ''GNV Allegra'' for service in the fleet of MSC subsidiary

Grandi Navi Veloci Grandi Navi Veloci (''GNV'') is an Italian shipping company, based in Genoa, that operates ferries between mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, France, Albania, Morocco and Tunisia. It was established by Aldo Grimaldi in 1992. History GNV was c ...

History

On delivery ''Kronprins Harald'' was placed on Jahre Line's

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

–

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

service. In 1990 Jahre Line merged with

Norway Line Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...

and Fred. Olsen Lines to form Color Line. After the change ''Kronprins Harald'' was kept on the same route, only her livery changed from the grey hull of Jahre Line to blue hull of Color Line.

''Kronprins Harald'' during her service with Color Line.

In January 2007 the ship was sold to

in preparation for the delivery of Color Line's new mega-cruiseferry MS ''Color Magic''. Irish Ferries chartered the Kronprins Harald back to Color Line until September 2007. The vessel's final sailing for Color Line took place on 31 August 2007 with the northbound Kiel – Oslo crossing. With her Color Line career over, Irish Ferries took control over her on 2 September 2007. Arriving for rebuilding at Fredericia Skibsværft on 4 September, she was renamed ''Oscar Wilde''. She entered service with Irish Ferries in December 2007, replacing MS ''Normandy''. Unlike other Irish Ferries ships, ''Oscar Wilde'' kept her blue hull and white funnel instead of a white hull and a green funnel. On 21 November 2007 the ship arrived in Rosslare Harbour for the first time, and entered service on the Rosslare –

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 ...

route on 30 November 2007. In January 2010 there was no service between Rosslare and

as she was operating the Rosslare –

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock ( cy, Doc Penfro) is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly follow ...

route during the docking of MS ''Isle of Inishmore''. and after this ''Oscar Wilde'' was in dry dock for the annual overhaul. On 2 February 2010 the engine room caught fire upon leaving

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English ...

where the ship had undergone its annual refit. No one was injured and the fire was extinguished, but the ship returned to Falmouth so a full investigation and repairs could be carried out. Sailings resumed on 6 March 2010 but the service was delayed by operational problem. The Ferry sailed from Cherbourg to Rosslare on Sunday morning 7 March 2010.

''GNV Allegra''

In May 2019 the ferry was renamed ''GNV Allegra''. She was operated by the

on the route

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

–

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called '' ...

. In late summer 2020 ''GNV Allegra'' was one of five ships, rented by the state of Italy to house migrants who had landed in larger numbers on the island of

Lampedusa Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of ...

and others, who had been brought to Italy by the

Sea-Watch Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants. History On 6 November 2017, the crew of a Sea-Watch ship rescued 58 people in an operation hindered b ...

NGO. Fabio Albanese: "Migranti, sulla nave-quarantena i 353 della Sea Watch 4"
lastampa.it, 2 September 2020

Name

MS ''Oscar Wilde'' was named after the Irish poet and playwright

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

References

External links

Irish Ferries official website for ''Oscar Wilde''
{{DEFAULTSORT:GNV Allegra Ferries of the Republic of Ireland Cruiseferries Ships built in Turku 1986 ships Former Color Line ships