MS Berlioz
The Côtes des Flandres as Berlioz at Calais before she entered service in August 2012
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| Route: | Dover - Calais |
| Builder: | Chantiers Atlantique, Saint Nazaire, France |
| Yard number: | O32 |
| Laid down: | 11 May 2004 |
| Launched: | 14 October 2004 |
| Completed: | 21 March 2005 |
| Acquired: | 28 March 2005 |
| In service: | 30 March 2005 |
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| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 33,940 GT |
| Length: | 186.0 m (610 ft) |
| Beam: | 27.7 m (91 ft) |
| Installed power: | 2 x Wärtsilä 8L46B, 2 x Wärtsilä 12V46B diesels, 9,000kW |
| Speed: | 25 kn (46.30 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 1900 passengers, 2000 lane metres (120 lorries or 700 cars) |
MS Côte des Flandres is a Ro-Ro Passenger Ferry owned by Euro-Transmanche 3 BE and operated by DFDS Seaways France between Dover and Calais, the ship was the second of this design to be built for SeaFrance in 2005, she entered service with SeaFrance in March 2005 and finished with SeaFrance in January 2012 when the company was liquidated.
She was sold to Euro-Transmanche 3 BE (Eurotunnel) in July 2012 and was renamed Berlioz, re-entering service between Dover and Calais in August 2012 with MyFerryLink. She was further renamed Côte des Flandres for service on the Dover to Calais route with DFDS Seaways France starting in early 2016.
The SeaFrance Berlioz carried out up to ten English Channel crossings per day with SeaFrance, initially in an advertised time of 70 minutes each. In total, there are 11 decks. When in SeaFrance service the passenger areas accounted for the upper two decks, with the lower decks used for the vehicles. The passenger area included a retail space and children's play area. The retail area covered around 500m² and included a boutique and a shopping area offering clothes, cosmetics, confectionery, beer, wines and spirits. There was also a newspaper kiosk, bureau de change and information desk. On board, there were six bars and restaurants. The Latitudes café bar and the Le Parisien café were located in the ship's bow - the former on the upper deck and the latter on the lower deck. The Latitudes could seat 260 passengers with waiter service for 60 and the Le Parisien café could accommodate 350 diners. The other areas were the Relais self-service restaurant, the la Brasserie Restaurant, the Le Pub bar, which had seating for 400 people, and a commercial driver's restaurant catering for 160 people. The Relais was situated at the stern and overlooks the children's play area. It had seating for 350 customers.
Between 16 November 2011 and 20 August 2012 she was laid up in Calais Port, due to the commercial court ordering that SeaFrance be liquidated. During her time laid up in Calais, she was involved in a collision with another vessel within the port vicinity. During a gale, with winds of around 50 knots, she parted her moorings and drifted across the water towards the cable vessel Île de Batz owned by the Louis Dreyfus Group. Damage was sustained to her starboard bridge wing which resulted in shattered windows and crushed roofing. Minimal damage was caused to the Île de Batz, which later departed for a nearby port for quick repairs. A tug owned by the Port of Calais was soon on the scene to assist. She resumed service with MyFerryLink on 20 August 2012, dropping SeaFrance from her name.
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Wikipedia