The Austal built trimaran Hull No.270 arrived at Poole at around 1000 on the morning of 26th December upon completion of her 10,500 nautical mile delivery voyage from the Philippines. The vessel had made a final stop in Malta prior to running non-stop to her new Dorset home.

Originally the craft was destined for Southampton but this was changed. The crew enjoyed a problem-free voyage and had spectacular views across the Indian Ocean, along the Gulf of Aden (stopping briefly in Djibouti to change crew and refuel/replenish) before heading up to the Suez Canal. In fact, Condor 102 was the first ship of her kind to use the 120 mile stretch of man-made waterway leading from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.

In early January interior refurbishment specialists, Trimline commenced the internal fit out in Poole and the ferry will undertake further trials before she begins sailing between Poole and the Channel Islands at the end of March. The new ship represents £50m of investment in the Channel Islands and heralds the start of a new era of high speed ferry travel to the Islands.

Trimline’s work includes the installation of a new Duty Free shop, children’s play area, Information Desk and range of eating and drinking outlets. The team will also finalise the three new seating lounges, including two upgrade areas that will enable passengers to travel in ultimate style. In the Duty Free Shop installation alone, Trimline has used 1,000m2 of lightweight honey combe board, 72m2 of solid surface board, 1,656 pieces of stainless steel and 180m of strip lighting.

The Condor Rapide and Condor Vitesse were both maintained in Weymouth and dry-docked at A&P Falmouth before the end of 2014 whilst the Condor Express went to A&P Falmouth on 11th January. The Condor Express will go to Greece in April/May along with sistership Condor Vitesse. They will be employed by Seajets as the Champion Jet 1 & Champion Jet 2.