MS European Mariner
Encyclopedia
History
European Mariner was launched in 1978 as Salahala for the Salahala Shipping Company. She was chartered by Gilvani for use on the GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
- Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
- Pireus - Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
route. In 1990, she was sold to Crescent Shipping and renamed Merchant Valiant and put into service on the Warrenpoint
Warrenpoint
Warrenpoint is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northern shore of Carlingford Lough and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town sprang up within the townland of Ringmackilroy...
- Heysham
Heysham
Heysham is a large coastal village near Lancaster in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland. Heysham is the site of two nuclear power stations which are landmarks visible from hills in the surrounding area...
route.Merchant Valiant was replaced on this route by the Merchant Victor and was put into service on the Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
- Ardrossan
Ardrossan
Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in south-western Scotland. The name "Ardrossan" describes its physical position — 'ard' from the Gaelic àird meaning headland, 'ros' a promontory and the diminutive suffix '-an' - headland of the little promontory...
route on charter to Pandoro, replacing the Belard on that route. She was sold to Pandoro in 1995 and renamed Lion on 15 October 1995. In January 1998, she was transferred to P&O Irish Sea
P&O Irish Sea
P&O Irish Sea was the trading name of P&O Ferries in the Irish Sea from 1998 - 2010. It has now merged back to being P&O Ferries.-History:P&O Irish Sea was formed in 1998, following the merger of the Cairnryan-based service of P&O European Ferries Ltd and Pandoro...
following the merger of Pandoro and P&O European Ferries (Felixstowe) Ltd and she was renamed European Highlander. On 8 November 1999 she ran aground at Ardrossan. A new route was opened in 2001 running from Troon
Troon
Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services...
instead of Ardrossan, and European Highlander was renamed European Mariner on 30 June 2001 as the Highlander name was required for a new ship
MV European Highlander (2002)
MV European Highlander is a ferry operated by P&O Irish Sea on their Cairnryan to Larne service. She is the current flagship of the P&O Irish Sea fleet . European Highlander is an enlarged version of , the Highlander being 6 metres longer...
being introduced to the Cairnryan-Larne route. European Mariner was replaced on the Larne - Troon route in January 2002 by the European Navigator. As she was spare, European Mariner spent time on charter to various shipping companies in 2002, including Color Line, Commodore Ferries
Condor Ferries
Condor Ferries is an operator of ferry services between mainland England and the Channel Islands, between England and France, and between France and the Channel Islands.-Recent history:...
, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Norse Island Ferries and Seatruck Ferries
Seatruck Ferries
Seatruck Ferries is a UK based freight-only ferry company which commenced services in 1996. It is part of the Clipper Group, a shipping company based in The Bahamas. The company operates out of five ports on the Irish Sea, including Heysham and Liverpool....
. Ports and places visited during this time include Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Barrow in Furness, the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
, Douglas
Douglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
, Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
, Heysham, Hirtshals
Hirtshals
Hirtshals is a town in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland on the north coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe.-The town of Hirtshals:...
, Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
, and Warrenpoint. On 6 November 2002 a lorry was washed overboard in storm conditions whilst European Mariner was on the Aberdeen - Lerwick
Lerwick
Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
route and she diverted to Invergordon
Invergordon
Invergordon is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:The town is well known for the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931. More recently it was also known for the repair of oil rigs which used to be lined up in the Cromarty Firth on which the town is situated...
. On 2 December, she came to the aid of the Merchant Venture which suffered an engine failue during a gale. Merchant Venture was escorted to Lerwick
Lerwick
Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
. In January 2003, European Mariner returned to service on the Larne - Troon route, replacing the European Navigator, which was uneconomic to operate on this route.
In 2006, European Mariner suffered damage to one of her propellor shafts in an accident at Troon. She ran for a few weeks on only one engine until repairs could be made at Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
. In 2007, European Mariner was chartered to transport blades for wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s from Esbjerg
Esbjerg
Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre political party...
that were destined for use on the turbines being erected as part of the Scroby Sands wind farm
Scroby Sands wind farm
The Scroby Sands Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Scroby Sands sandbank in the North Sea, off the coast of Great Yarmouth in eastern England, United Kingdom. It was commissioned in March 2004 by Powergen Renewables Offshore, a division of E.ON UK. It is expected to produce up to a maximum...
..
In May 2011 P&O Ferries announced that the European Mariner was to be replaced by the Norcape. The European Mariner operated her last service for P&O between Troon and Larne on 9 July 2011. She sailed for Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where she was run on to the beach at Aliağa
Aliaga
Aliaga can refer to:* Aliaga, Aragon, Spain* Aliağa, Turkey* the Filipino municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija on Luzon* a family name, as in the case of the Peruvian writer Felipe Pardo y Aliaga...
where she was scrapped.