MV Cotentin
Encyclopedia
M/V
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Cotentin is a freight ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
operated by Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.-1970s and 1980s:Following the provision of the deep-water port at Roscoff, the company commenced in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...
and built by Aker Finnyards in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Cotentin is named after the Cotentin Peninsula
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
of which Cherbourg is its largest town. Cotentin was also the name of one of the original Truckline vessels to sail between Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
and Cherbourg. Sea trials commenced on 26 September 2007 after which she returned to the shipyard for completion. She was delivered to Brittany Ferries on 9 November 2007 and undertook berthing trials in 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...
and Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
on 14 November 2007 prior to sailing to her homeport of Cherbourg arriving the next day. Her first commercial sailing was the 23:45 Cherbourg–Poole service on 26 November 2007. Cotentin replaces MV Coutances
MV Coutances
The M/V Rosa Eugenia, formerly the Coutances and Outances is a freight ferry owned by Conferry and previously operated by Brittany Ferries. It was built at Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre shipyard in France for Truckline Ferries and entered service in 1977...
on weekday Poole–Cherbourg sailings.
Cotentin sails under the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
flag and is registered in Cherbourg. In terms of capacity she is the largest ship ever to have operated out of Poole and also the largest ship by capacity in the Brittany Ferries fleet, carrying two more freight vehicles than the physically larger Mont St Michel
MV Mont St Michel
The MV Mont St Michel is a ferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built at Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard in the Netherlands and has been sailing for Brittany Ferries since 2002. The Mont St Michel was to have been called the Deauville or the Honfleur but this was thought to be too similar...
. The ships gross tonnage
Gross tonnage
Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage...
is given as 19,909 or 22542 depending on the source.
Regular routes
- PoolePoolePoole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
–CherbourgCherbourg-Octeville-Main sights:* La Glacerie has a race track.* The Cité de la Mer is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects.* Cherbourg Basilica* Jardin botanique de la Roche Fauconnière, a private botanical garden.* Le Trident theatre... - Poole–SantanderSantander, CantabriaThe port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
Weekend service
When the order for the Cotentin in 2005 was announced it was not made clear which route the vessel would be placed on. The French press released stated that she would be for the 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...
–Cherbourg and run to Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
at the weekends route while the English press release simply stated that she would be used in the Cherbourg route and to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
at the weekend.
An October 2006 article in International Freighting Weekly included comments from a Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.-1970s and 1980s:Following the provision of the deep-water port at Roscoff, the company commenced in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...
executive which suggested that the ship would be placed on the Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
–Cherbourg route and that the timetable currently operated by the Coutances
MV Coutances
The M/V Rosa Eugenia, formerly the Coutances and Outances is a freight ferry owned by Conferry and previously operated by Brittany Ferries. It was built at Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre shipyard in France for Truckline Ferries and entered service in 1977...
would be amended to give more "social" departure times, specifically changing the 02:00 summer time departure from Cherbourg.
Up to mid-July 2007 the Brittany Ferries Freight timetable showed a two-ship service on Poole–Cherbourg after the delivery of the Cotentin, and no Portsmouth–Cherbourg sailings, indicating the company's intention to place the ship on the Poole–Cherbourg route alongside the Barfleur
MV Barfleur
MV Barfleur is a ferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built at Masa Yards in Finland for the Brittany Ferries subsidiary Truckline and entered service in 1992. In 1999 she was repainted in Brittany Ferries standard livery. She sails under the French flag and is registered in Cherbourg...
. Newspaper articles covering the launch of the vessel stated that the vessel would primarily be used on the Poole route. Despite the initial announcement that the ship would run to Santander at the weekend a decision had not been made at the time as to whether this will be the ships Spanish destination due to port fees. Other ports that were in the running to receive the Cotentin were Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
and Gijon
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
.
On 21 July 2007 it was announced by Brittany Ferries that the Cotentin would operate from Poole, a partially amended timetable for the Poole–Cherbourg route had been posted prior to the announcement though Cotentin sailings were absent until the delivery date was confirmed. The amendments allowed for the Cotentin's Poole–Santander weekend sailings.
The 2008 timetable announced on 12 September 2007 showed the Cotentin entering service in mid-November 2007 on the Poole–Cherbourg route with services to Santander commencing shortly after. Initially the 2008 timetable showed that after Christmas the Cotentin would move to the Caen route to provide refit cover for the Mont St Michel
MV Mont St Michel
The MV Mont St Michel is a ferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built at Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard in the Netherlands and has been sailing for Brittany Ferries since 2002. The Mont St Michel was to have been called the Deauville or the Honfleur but this was thought to be too similar...
before returning to Poole. Her place on the Cherbourg and Santander route was to have been taken by the Bretagne
MV Bretagne
MV Bretagne is a ferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France and has been sailing for Brittany Ferries since 1989...
, however shortly after its release the timetable was edited and the Cotentin will remain on the Cherbourg and Santander routes throughout January. From mid-May 2008 the Cotentin will commence the new summer timetable with sailings on the Cherbourg route carried out in 3 hours 45 minutes as opposed to the previous 4 hours 30 mins on the Coutances. The crossing time was extended after a short time operating the new timetable as a fuel saving measure.
Onboard facilities
- Self-Service Restaurant - Deck 7
- Bar Lounge - Deck 7
- Boutique - Deck 7
- TV Lounges - Deck 7
- 120 2-berth Cabins - Decks 8 and 9
- Some confusion exists as to the exact number of passenger cabins on board. The Brittany Ferries Freight website has conflicting numbers stating 120 and 116 on the same page, also the same page gives a total of 216 berths which would mean there are 108 2-berth cabins.
Publicity material issued by Brittany Ferries states that there is a fitness room on board available for use by passengers. However, this is a crew-only facility and is not located on a deck accessible by passengers.