MS ''James Joyce'' is a fast

Ro-Pax Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

ferry operated by

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 ...

on the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

to Holyhead and

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 ...

routes on charter from

Tallink Tallink () is an Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea ...

. She was built as ''Star'' at

Aker Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cit ...

Helsinki Shipyard,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

for

and entered service on their

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

–

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

service on 12 April 2007. After being chartered by Irish Ferries in 2023, the ship's name was changed to ''Oscar Wilde''. In May 2024, Irish Ferries renamed the ferry ''James Joyce''.

Specifications

The ship's design is heavily based on that of , built by

for SeaFrance in 2001.

Construction and career

Tallink

''Star'' was the first fast ferry capable of year-round service used on the

–

route. The green external

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

of the ship was according to Tallink promotional material "meant to reflect the environmentally friendly aspects of the ship's design". ''Star'' operated three daily departures from both Helsinki and Tallinn, each crossing taking two hours. In Tallink marketing, ''Star'' was often referred to as "Tallink Star". The ship's planned original delivery date was 5 April 2007, but this was postponed until 12 April 2007, owing to problems with the main engines. During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

outbreak crisis the ship was assigned to a government emergency service between

Paldiski Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...

, Estonia, and

Sassnitz Sassnitz (, before 1993 in german: Saßnitz) is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2012 was 9,498. Sassnitz is a well-known seaside resort and port town, a ...

, Germany to ease the transportation of goods between Estonia and Central Europe. Poland had closed its borders and required health declarations from truck drivers which introduced long truck queues on its borders and slowed transportation.

Irish Ferries

On 6 April 2023,

announced they were chartering ''Star'' from Tallink for 20 months, with possible extensions of 2+2 years, and an eventual possibility of purchase. The ship was renamed ''Oscar Wilde'' and was initially positioned on the Rosslare – Pembroke route, replacing the also chartered Greek ferry . On 31 January 2024 she was replaced on the route from Rosslare by , allowing ''Oscar Wilde'' to be deployed from 11 February 2024 on the company's two primary services from

, sailing to

, France on one weekend rotation and to Holyhead, Wales for the rest of the week. After new chartered ships entered service with Irish Ferries, ''Oscar Wilde'' was renamed ''James Joyce'' in May 2024.

References

External links

Tallink official website for ''Star''
*

Star at marinetraffic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:James Joyce 2006 ships Cruiseferries Ferries of Estonia Ships built in Helsinki