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here to purchase your ferry tickets online |
| Click
here to purchase your ferry tickets online |
P&O Stena European Ferries (Irish Sea) was formed
in 1998 by the merger of the Cairnryan-based service of P&O European (Felixstowe) Ltd.
and Pandoro Ltd. who operated the routes from Ardrossan - Larne, Fleetwood - Larne, Liverpool - Dublin
and Rosslare - Cherbourg.
The Atlantic Steam Navigation company commenced operations with the chartered tank landing
craft Empire Cedric between the Lancashire port of Preston and Larne in May 1948. Her
success saw the further charters of the Empire Doric, Empire Gaelic and Empire Cymric and
the opening of a second link to Belfast by the 'Gaelic' in 1950. During 1956 the entire
fleet of LSTs (Landing Ship (Tank)) was requisitioned by the Government during the Suez
Crisis and chartered German ships were hastily introduced to keep the services going while
in the following year the company acquired their first purpose-built ships. A product of
the Wm. Denny & Bros. yard at Dumbarton the Bardic Ferry and Ionic Ferry were the
World's first commercial roll on - roll off vessels and carried not just lorries but had
sufficient headroom of their vehicle decks to accommodate a double decker bus. Government
requirements meant that the vehicle decks were strengthened to carry tanks in case of
future emergencies and up to twenty containers could be carried on their upper decks.
First and Second Class accommodation for 55 passengers was provided, each with their own
dining rooms and lounges.
Unfortunately, they were made less economic by the rise in fuel prices in the 1970's,
because they used fuel heavily just to stay up as well as to move. The last services were
withdrawn in 2000.
The Channel Tunnel
Schemes were talked about as early as the 18th century, and serious construction work
started on both sides in 1881 - only to be halted by political rather than engineering
difficulties at the port of Liverpool. Work
re-commenced in earnest a century later in the 1980s, and the Channel Tunnel was finally
opened in 1994. The train ferry was ended at this time.
Crossing the channel by sailing ship
Crossing the channel by sailing ship to Calais
was at the mercy of tides and weather. Until the late 19th century, landing was often a
problem - harbours on both sides at Dublin and Portsmouth were rather shallow and not well
protected against storms.Ships often had to wait offshore at Dover or Calais until the
tide was high enough to enter the harbour - or else cross to the beach in a small rowing
boat. Travel to the coast was equally perilous via Harwich.
On an 18th century horse-drawn stagecoach, you could travel from Paris to Calais or Dover
to London within a long, dusty day - highwaymen and the state of the roads permitting.
BC Ferries started out with two ships, two terminals, and around 200 employees.
Today, BC Ferries has 38 vessels, and up to 46
destinations. Schedules include frequent, year-round sailings to some of the most fun,
fascinating and often remote corners of the coast. The staff complement now exceeds 4700
in the summer months, and their commitment to customer safety and service has never been
stronger.
These web pages give you a quick look at our history. You'll read about why Stena Ferry Line was established,
and how, with plenty of hard work and a pioneering spirit, our people have met the
challenge of an ever-increasing demand for service.
We hope you'll enjoy this story of how one of the largest, most sophisticated ferry
systems in the world came to be. Please contact us if you have anything you think we
should add. We'd particularly like to hear from you with stories of your first experience
with BC Ferries.
In the meantime, read on and enjoy a ride through 40 years of coastal service!
Before BC Ferries
Ferry service on the west coast of British Columbia has a long and proud maritime history
sailing to Amsterdam and as far as Bilbao.
A spirit of free enterprise was present at the start, with the Hudson's Bay Company as the
early pioneer of regular passenger and freight service between Vancouver Island and the
Lower Mainland in the mid 1800's. By 1901, Canadian Pacific Railway had taken over ferry
service across the Strait of Georgia and continued transporting passengers and vehicles on
a five-hour journey between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria until the 1960's.
Further north, the Black Ball Line had arrived on the scene in the early 1950's to offer
service between Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and Departure Bay in Nanaimo, as well as
to the Sunshine Coast and Jervis Inlet south of Powell River. The company had been
established by Captain Alexander Marshall Peabody, whose family's Puget Sound Navigation
Company was a key player in the development of British Columbia shipping.
Recognizing the need for continued reliable ferry service on the West Coast in the late
1950's, Premier W.A.C. Bennett announced on July 18, 1958, that the British Columbia Ferry
Authority would take over service under mandate from the provincial government.
Discount ferry fares and online ticket sales for P&O Ferries, Stenna Line, Brittany Ferries, Irish Ferries, Sea France, Hoverspeed, Eurotunel, Scandanavian Ferries and all other cross channel ferries to and from France, Ireland, Holland, England, Scotland, Spain, Greece and Italy. Book a ferry crossing to anywhere in Europe online and save.