The MS ''Express Aphrodite'' was a ferry originally named ''St. Columba''. Built in 1977, at the

Aalborg Shipyard Aalborg Shipyard (''Danish language, Danish: Aalborg Værft A/S'') was a shipyard located in Aalborg, Denmark. Founded in 1912 by brothers Immanuel Stuhr and Peter Philip Stuhr, the shipyard was founded under the name Stuhr Engine and Ship Constru ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

, ''St. Columba'' was originally a

Sealink UK Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland. Ports served by the company included: Dover, F ...

ferry, operating between Holyhead and

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

. She laterally operated between Duba and Jeddah for Namma Shipping Lines. She was beached at Gadani for scrapping in December 2021.

Fire

On 31 January 1990, a fire broke out in the engine room of ''St. Columba''. None of the 199 passengers on board were injured, however a fireman suffered a fractured

ulna The ulna (''pl''. ulnae or ulnas) is a long bone found in the forearm that stretches from the elbow to the smallest finger, and when in anatomical position, is found on the medial side of the forearm. That is, the ulna is on the same side of t ...

. The

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

praised the work of the staff on board the ferry in preventing the spread of the fire, and keeping the passengers safe and re-assured. As there was too much oil to re-ignite the engines, the ship had to be towed for the remainder of the journey to Holyhead

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

Ownership by Stena Line

In 1990,

Sealink Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland. Ports served by the company included: Dover, Folkest ...

was taken over by

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...

, and with this new investment, came an £8 million re-fit for ''St Columba'', and her name was changed to ''Stena Hibernia''. In 1996, with the introduction of the HSS fast ferries, ''Hibernia'' was again re-named, this time as ''Stena Adventurer'', with the intention of her moving to the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

to serve the

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East 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 south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The p ...

route. This move, however, never materialised, and ''Stena Adventurer'' was sold to Agapitos Express Ferries of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

Ownership by Agapitos Express Ferries

''Stena Adventurer'' was renamed ''Express Aphrodite''.

Ship's names

* ''St. Columba'' (1977–1990) * ''Stena Hibernia'' (1990–1996) * ''Stena Adventurer'' (1996–1997) * ''Express Aphrodite'' (1997–2007) * ''Masarrah'' (2007–2021) * ''Asarrah'' (2021)

Scraping

''Masarrah'' was beached as ''Asarrah'' at

Gadani Ship Breaking Yard Gadani ship-breaking yard is the world's third largest ship breaking yard located across a long beachfront at Gadani, Pakistan. The yard consists of 132 ship-breaking plots."Record 107 ships dismantled at Gaddani" by Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana, ''Dawn' ...

, Pakistan, on the morning of 2 December 2021 for scrapping. She was flying the flag of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

at the time.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110711165356/http://www.hhvferry.com/stcolumba.html *http://www.sealink-holyhead.com/sealink/ships/st_columba_sealink/fire.html *http://www.sealink-holyhead.com/sealink/ships/st_columba_sealink/home.html Cruiseferries 1976 ships Ships built in Aalborg Ships of British Rail {{ferry-stub