''Delft Seaways'' is a

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, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

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 ...

owned and operated by

DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions (DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) in ...

. She is one of three sister ships designed for the cross-Channel route from

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. ...

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, capable of making the crossing in 1 hour and 45 minutes. ''Delft Seaways'' is a

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n designed ship built at the

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

shipyards in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in 2005. She sails under the flag of the United Kingdom and her port of registry is

History

The ship was ordered in 2003 as the second of the three Maersk ''D-Class car ferries''. delivered in 2006 and made her maiden voyage on 27 February 2006, replacing Northern Merchant which previously operated the route. She had an encounter with armed speedboats in the Gulf of Aden during the delivery voyage from Korea. ''Maersk Delft ''suffered a loss of power whilst returning to Dover following a refit at Scheldeport Dockyard, Vlissingen on 29 January 2007. The fault was blamed on a computer error, but the vessel had to be towed into Dover harbour from outside the eastern entrance where she had anchored. In July 2010

Norfolkline Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the English Channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea; and passenger ferry services on the English Channel and Irish Sea; and ...

was acquired by

DFDS DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (literally ''The United Steamship Company''). DFDS was founded in 1866, when Carl Frederik Tietgen, C.F. Tiet ...

. The Norfolkline ships and routes were re-branded as

. In 2016 the ships went into drydock at Damen shipyard in Dunkirk. They were rebranded into the new DFDS livery which dropped the Seaways branding from the side of the vessel. Delft Seaways kept the Seaways name, the same as with the other D-Class vessels.

Vessel overview

The ''Delft Seaways'', or former ''Maersk Delft'', is a member of the triplet ''D-class'' of Ro-Pax vessels, being designed to replace the older so-called ''Racehorse'' quartet of Ro/Ro ferries specialised for lorry freight. The D-class of vessels has been named so, as all the triplets have their names beginning with the letter D, with

, and Delft Seaways. All vessels are twin-screw Ro-Pax vessels, with space for 930 passengers and 2990 lane metres of vehicle capacity, divided between 3 vehicle decks, with decks 3 and 4 reserved for lorries and other freight. Their service speed is 25 knots, although they can make 28 knots in an emergency, and are powered by four MAN diesel engines coupled to two propellers. They also have four 1800kW thrusters, three on the bow and one on the stern. The vessels of this class are easily distinguishable due to their signature windows at the bow of the superstructure, which provide for a panoramic view of the English Channel for passengers. Under Norfolkline, the vessel also had some 132 artworks made by Anne Visbøll, although it is unknown whether the artworks remain on the vessel under DFDS ownership.

Sister ships

''Delft Seaways'' has two sister ships operating on the same service: '' ''Dunkerque Seaways'' and '' ''Dover Seaways''.

References

External links

M/F Maersk DunkerqueNorfolklineDover Harbour BoardDunkerque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delft Seaways Ferries of the United Kingdom 2005 ships Ships built by Samsung Heavy Industries DFDS