MV ''Armorique'' is a passenger and freight

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

built for

Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France, England, Ireland, Spain and the ...

STX Europe STX Europe AS, formerly Aker Yards ASA, was until 2012 a subsidiary of the South Korean STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. With headquarters in Oslo, Norway, STX Europe operated 15 shipyards in Brazil, Finland, France, Norway, Romania and Vietnam. Th ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

at a cost of £81 million (€110 million). The vessel was delivered to Brittany Ferries on 26 January 2009, it was originally planned for her to be delivered in September 2008. ''Armorique'' is named after a national park in western Brittany. ''Armorique'' was also the name of a previous Brittany Ferries vessel purchased for service between

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. The walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the All ...

in 1975 and sold in 1993. The vessel was designed and built specifically for the

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Roscoff Roscoff ( , ; ) is a commune in the Finistère département of Brittany in northwestern France. Roscoff is renowned for its picturesque architecture, labelled (small town of character) since 2009. Roscoff is also a traditional departure point ...

route, as a replacement for the . Her maiden voyage was due to be on 10 February 2009 at 15:00hrs, sailing from Roscoff to Plymouth. However, due to severe weather conditions, this crossing was cancelled, and she sailed to Plymouth without passengers. The overnight crossing from Plymouth on 10 February went ahead, making this her maiden voyage. ''Armorique'' sails under the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

flag and is registered in

Morlaix Morlaix (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History The Battle of Morlaix, part of the Hundred Years' War, was fought near the town on 30 Septembe ...

Routes

Current route

* Plymouth - Roscoff

Other routes served

* Portsmouth - Bilbao * Portsmouth - Santander * Portsmouth - Saint Malo * Portsmouth - Caen * Plymouth - Santander * Poole - Cherbourg * Roscoff - Cork * Portsmouth to Le Havre * Rosslare - Saint Malo Freight Only ''Armorique'' is the only ship to have visited all the ports operated by Brittany Ferries. Armorique 2008-11-17

Design

''Armorique'' is identical to from keel to deck five. The first deck of passenger space is on deck six rather than deck 7 as on the ''Cotentin''. Initial artist impressions from Aker Yards showed a vessel that shared a number of similarities to the ''Cotentin''. However, Brittany Ferries released an altered artist's impression of the ''Armorique'' in December. Revisions include a design change to the funnel and upper cabin deck along with alterations to the proposed livery. Pictures released by Brittany Ferries show the ship will have double deck vehicle access at the bow and stern to decks 3 and 5 though while on her usual route loading of deck 5 will be via an internal ramp due to lack of double deck facilities at Plymouth or Roscoff. The stern door will be narrower than the one fitted to the ''Cotentin''.

Notes

External links

Official Brittany Ferries Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armorique Ferries of the United Kingdom Ferries of France Ships built in Helsinki 2008 ships