Townsend Thoresen

Townsend Thoresen was a ferry operator based in the United Kingdom formed by the merger of Townsend Brothers Ferries with Thoresen Car Ferries in 1968. It was renamed P&O European Ferries in 1987.

Townsend Brothers Ferries

Townsend Brothers Ferries was set up after World War II to transport cars between Dover and Calais. Their first purpose-built roll-on/roll-off passenger and vehicle ferry entered service in 1962. She was named Free Enterprise, celebrating Townsend's private-sector status, in competition with the government-run services of British Railways and SNCF on the Dover-Calais route.

Subsequent vessels entered service in 1965 (Free Enterprise II) and 1966 (Free Enterprise III). With their increased fleet size Townsend began a service from Dover to Zeebrugge from 1966.

Thoresen Car Ferries

Thoresen Car Ferries began operation in 1964, with routes from Southampton to Cherbourg and Le Havre. The company was set up by the Norwegian Otto Thoresen, and the names of their original vessels Viking I and Viking II, and the subsequent Viking III and Viking IV, reflected the company's Scandinavian origins.

Townsend Thoresen

The two companies merged in 1968, forming Townsend Thoresen. In turn, Townsend Thoresen Car Ferry Company was a part of the European Ferries Group (EFG). EFG's primary concern was in passenger shipping, however they owned considerable amounts of land in the USA and the Spanish Resort La Manga at the time of the P&O Purchase. The EFG company naming would be continued into the takeover by P&O in 1986, when the name TT was dropped in favour of P&O European Ferries, post Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.

Routes

The company's routes were concentrated in four areas: the Strait of Dover, the western English Channel, the southern North Sea and between Scotland and Northern Ireland. On the Strait of Dover, there were routes from Dover to Calais, Boulogne and Zeebrugge; these were former Townsend routes. Then there were the former Thoresen routes on the Western Channel, from Southampton to Le Havre and Cherbourg; the UK port for these services was moved to Portsmouth in the mid-1980s. On the North Sea, there was a route from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge. Finally, there was the route between Cairnryan, Scotland and Larne, Northern Ireland.

Fleet

Many new vessels built for Townsend Thoresen followed the naming schemes of one of the constituent companies. Five further "Free Enterprises" entered service between 1969 and 1972, for use on the Dover services, and occasional use from Southampton.

Four "Super Vikings" were delivered in 1975 and 1976: these were named Viking Valiant, Viking Venturer, Viking Viscount and Viking Voyager. These were used on the Western Channel services, as well as between Felixstowe and Zeebrugge.

A trio of Spirit Class vessels were delivered in 1979 and 1980: the Herald of Free Enterprise, Pride of Free Enterprise and Spirit of Free Enterprise, continuing the "Free Enterprise" tradition, replacing Free Enterprise I and II on services out of Dover.

Townsend Thoresen also ordered two new vessels which entered service in 1987 as the Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais; these arrived after the P&O takeover.

Liveries

Townsend Thoresen had quite a few different liveries in the company's history. The old Townsend Brothers Ferries ships had remained in their old livery, a greenish blue with white combination, while the old Thoresen Car Ferries ships had remained in their old brownish orange with white livery, untill 1974. From 1974 to 1976 the company used a greenish blue in combination with white for almost the entire fleet. The brownish orange livery is probably the most commonly known livery, as it was introduced to the company's entire fleet in 1976.

Trivia

In 1982, the Townsend Thoresen vessels Europic Ferry, Nordic Ferry and Baltic Ferry were requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence to assist with the Falklands Campaign.

Acquired by P&O

The company was acquired by P&O in 1986. Following the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise outside Zeebrugge in 1987, which saw the Townsend Thoresen logo broadcast around the world on the side of the capsized ship, the name of the company was changed to P&O European Ferries later that year.

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