Brittany Ferries’ Mont St. Michel was scheduled to depart from the Astander Shipyard in Santander during the week beginning 7th December, to arrive in Cherbourg on 10th December via Gijon for bunkers (as the Barfleur did after her own refit in Santander). The ship returned to service on 18th December with a special Cherbourg to Portsmouth sailing. She now sports a huge third funnel between the existing two that houses the exhaust scrubbers.

Corsica Ferries acquired Tallink’s 36,277gt/2008 built Superstar (above) on 10th November and she will become the Mega Express 6 in 2017. In the meantime the ship is chartered back to Tallink until their newbuild arrives.

Finnlines sent the 29,841gt/1999 built Finneagle (above) to the Mediterranean on a short-term charter to parent company Grimaldi in November to serve the Salerno- Catania route. The Finneagle returned to service with Finnlines in January. 

High speed Ferries had hoped to have Weymouth-Cherbourg crossings up and running from April 2016 but the firm needs “further financial backing”. The local council is now considering whether or not to keep the port open beyond the end of March 2016. The ferry company had said the service, which would be the company’s first, would take under two hours and create 90 jobs in Weymouth and Portland. The firm had also looked at starting a service to France from Portland in 2010. 

Irish Ferries’ 31,914gt/1987 built cruiseferry Oscar Wilde operated between Holyhead and Dublin to provide extra sailings over Christmas and the New Year (19th December-3rd January). She joined the Epsilon, Ulysses and Jonathan Swift on the route. From 3rd January the ship switched to Rosslare-Pembroke to cover for the isle of Inishmore that went to Holyhead as refit cover for the Ulysses ahead of her own dry docking. 

SCA Logistics is moving its distribution hub in the UK from Tilbury to Sheerness from early 2016. The company operates the 170m long ro-ro vessels Obbola (above – 20,186gt/1996), Östrand (20,171gt/1996) and Ortviken (20,154gt/1996). The 16 knot ships operate a circular route from Umeå, Sundsvall, Oxelösund, London, Rotterdam, Helsingborg and return.

On 16th November the Indonesian ferry KM Wihan Sejahtera sank in Lamong Bay, Surabaya, Indonesia. Some 100 people were rescued with a search following for over 70 more. The KM Wihan Sejahtera was en-route from Tanjung Perak, Surabaya, to Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara and is believed to have hit a submerged object. 

Stena Line’s 19,504gt/1986 built Stena Nautica (above) was damaged on 22nd November when the 3,776gt/2008 built offshore windfarm vessel Sea Worker broke her moorings in high winds and struck the moored ferry in Grenaa, Denmark. 

Tallink’s 40,975gt/2004 built Victoria 1 (above) was damaged in a storm on 5th December whilst crossing between Tallinn and Stockholm. She turned back after broken windows caused water ingress.

Another ex-UK favourite was lost on 7th December when the 13,728gt/1980 built Sherbatsky (above), the former Townsend Thoresen ferry Pride of Free Enterprise/P&O Ferries’ Pride of Bruges/P&OSL Picardy and TEF oleander, arrived at Alang under the name of Sher for scrap having been sold to United Ship Breaking Co., unless of course she has a Banasa style reprieve.