When the closure of the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry service was announced many considered the 22,382gt/2003 built Sirena Seaways (above) as an ideal candidate to replace the 18,425gt/2006 built Seven Sisters on DFDS Seaways’ Portsmouth-Le Havre service. However, the subsequent announced closure of the company’s Le Havre service put paid to that.

With considerable irony, on 30th January Brittany Ferries announced an expansion of their nofrills économie sailings to Le Havre and Bilbao using none other than the Sirena Seaways. The économie brand was only unveiled by Brittany Ferries on 7th February 2014 when they chartered what had been DFDS Seaway’s Le Havre ship, the 26,904gt/2008 built Norman Voyager (Renamed Etretat). To be renamed Baie de Seine, the DFDS ship will join Brittany Ferries in May, serving Portsmouth-Le Havre four times a week and Portsmouth to Bilbao once a week to supplement the Etretat.

The économie brand is aimed at customers who wish to travel to France or Spain at a very reasonable fare without the cruise-style experience normally provided by Brittany Ferries. One-way fares for a car plus two this May start from just £79 to France and £209 to Spain. The Baie de Seine is receiving exhaust scrubbers, will carry less than her present 610 passenger capacity, has 196 cabins (including 14 that are pet-friendly) and can accommodate 160 cars and 85 trucks. Meanwhile, in the operational fleet, the 40,859gt/2004 built Pont-Aven was unable to keep to schedule during the weeks beginning 26th January and 2nd February due to bad weather.

Therefore the 30th January-1st February and 6th-8th February St. Malo schedules were operated by the 29,468gt/2009 built Armorique. She covered the latter route by offering a rare Roscoff- Portsmouth sailing on 6th February. The 24,534gt/1989 built Bretagne arrived at Le Havre on 2nd February from refit in Gdansk to join the 6,581gt/2000 built Normandie Express in winter lay-up. The 32,728gt/2001 built Cap Finistere went to a shipyard at El Astillero, further inland from Santander, on 13th January for refit and exhaust scrubber installation.