Norse Merchant Ferries was an

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

ferry company that operating passenger and freight RORO services between England the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

History

Norse Merchant Ferries was created in October 1999 when Cenargo, the owners of Merchant Ferries purchased

Norse Irish Ferries Norse Irish Ferries was an Irish Sea ferry company that operated a passenger and freight roll-on/roll-off service between Belfast and Liverpool. History Norse Irish Ferries was formed as a joint venture between the Norwegian Roed Group and a co ...

. The companies operated separately until February 2001 when Norse Merchant Ferries was officially launched. In January 2003 Cenargo filed voluntary petitions for relief under

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The shipping subsidiaries of Cenargo emerged from administration in December 2003 as Norse Merchant Group. In November 2005 the Norse Merchant Group was acquired by

Maersk (), usually known simply as Maersk ( ), is a Danish Freight transport, shipping and logistics company founded in 1904 by Arnold Peter Møller and his father Peter Mærsk Møller. Maersk's business activities include Port operator, port operat ...

and integrated into

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 ...

Routes

Norse Merchant Ferries operated the following routes across the Irish Sea *

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

( Canada Dock) – Dublin * Liverpool ( Brocklebank Dock) – Belfast *

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...

– Dublin (Freight only) * Heysham – Belfast (Freight only) Note: The Liverpool services where transferred to

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

Twelve Quays in 2002

Fleet

* ''Merchant Venture'' * ''Lindarosa'' * ''Norse Mersey'' * ''Dawn Merchant'' * ''Brave Merchant'' * ''Merchant Bravery'' * '' Merchant Brilliant'' * '' RR Arrow'' * '' RR Shield'' * ''Saga Moon'' * ''River Lune'' * ''

Liverpool Viking ''Pelagos'' is a Ropax#ROPAX, RoPax ferry owned and operated by French shipping company La Méridionale. The vessel is named after a marine conservation area surrounding Corsica. History ''Pelagos'' was built in October 1997 as the ''Lagan Vik ...

'' * '' Dublin Viking'' * '' Lagan Viking'' * '' Mersey Viking''

References

{{reflist

External links

Norfolkline
Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom