LD Line’s Norman Spirit sails in to enter Dover-Boulogne service

French cross-channel ferry operator LD Line’s   conventional ferry Norman Spirit is due to commence operations on the company’s Dover-Boulogne route from 11 November. Transferring from the French operator’s Portsmouth-Le Havre service, the introduction of Norman Spirit will considerably increase freight and tourist traffic on the route.

Norman Spirit replaces the fast ferry Norman Arrow which is re-locating to the Portsmouth-Le Havre to operate a six month seasonal service from Easter to September 2010.  Norman Spirit will operate four return sailings daily between Dover and Boulogne’s new Hub Port terminal, and provide a crossing time of one hour and 45 mins. The ferry can carry 1,850 passenger, 700 cars, 110 freight vehicles, as well as coaches and foot passengers.   

Norman Spirit is no stranger to Dover, having started life in 1992 as Belgian ferry operator RMT’s Prins Filip, running on the Dover-Ostend service. Sold to Stena Ro-Ro in 1998 and renamed Stena Royal, she was then chartered by P&O Stena Line as a freight ferry on the Dover-Zeebrugge run and was then bought outright and renamed P&OSL Aquitaine. A further renaming by the newly formed P&O Ferries she served on the busy Dover-Calais service until being sold to LD Lines in 2005.