MS Pelagos

Pelagos is a RoPax ferry owned and operated by French shipping company La Méridionale. The vessel is named after a marine conservation area surrounding Corsica.

History
Name	1997-2005: Lagan Viking 2005-2010: Liverpool Viking 2010-2020: Liverpool Seaways 2020-present: Pelagos
Operator	1997-2001: Norse Irish Ferries 2001-2005: Norse Merchant Ferries 2005-2010: Norfolkline 2010-2020: DFDS Seaways 2020-present: La Méridionale
Port of registry	1997-2004: Bari. Italy 2004-2011: Belfast, United Kingdom 2010-2020: Klaipėda, Lithuania 2020-present: Marseille, France
Builder	Cantiere Navale Visentini, Italy
Launched	12 March 1996
Completed	1997
Maiden voyage	October 1997
Identification	IMO number: 9136034
General characteristics
Tonnage	21,856 GT
Length	186.0 m (610.2 ft)
Beam	25.60 m (84.0 ft)
Height	51 m (167.3 ft)
Draught	6.3 m (20.7 ft)
Decks	4
Installed power	2 x Wärtsilä 8R46 diesels
Propulsion	2 × Controllable pitch propellers 2 × Bow thrusters
Speed	21.5 knots (40 km/h)
Capacity	340 Passengers 200 Cars 2460 Lane meters

History

Pelagos was built in October 1997 as the Lagan Viking, entering service with Norse Irish Ferries Belfast to Liverpool route. In February 2001, Cenargo, the owners of Merchant Ferries purchased Norse Irish Ferries. The two companies merged and operated together as Norse Merchant Ferries.

The Pelagos in Belfast as the Lagan Viking for Norse Merchant Ferries

Ahead of the arrival of a new larger vessel from Cantiere Navale Visentini with the same name to replace her on the Belfast - Liverpool route, Lagan Viking was renamed Liverpool Viking in January 2005 in order to free up her name for the new Lagan Viking. Following the arrival of her replacement, Liverpool Viking was redeployed to the former Merchant Ferries Dublin to Liverpool route. In November 2005 the Norse Merchant Group was acquired by Maersk and integrated into Norfolkline.

In July 2010 Norfolkline was acquired by DFDS. The vessel was renamed Liverpool Seaways during her refit in August 2010. In January 2011, DFDS announced that its Birkenhead to Dublin route was to end on 31 January, due to the sharp decline in demand since 2008.^[1]

Following the closure of the Birkenhead - Dublin route, the Liverpool Seaways has been redeployed on DFDS Seaways Baltic Sea routes. On May 24, 2019, it was reported in the French media that Liverpool Seaways had been sold to La Méridionale.^[2]

Route

In February 2011 the Pelagos (as the Liverpool Seaways) operated for DFDS Seaways between Klaipėda and Karlshamn. In 2015 she was moved to the Paldiski - Kapellskär route.

Currently the Pelagos operates between Marseille and Tangier Med for La Méridionale.

Onboard facilities

The ship has several facilities on board such as restaurants, bars, shops, cabins and reclining seats