Condor Ferries HSC Condor Rapide - Further Ferry Information and Vessel Description
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The new ship, which is called Condor Rapide, is a younger sister of the well-known ferries Condor Vitesse and Condor Express and will be coming to Weymouth where she will be prepared for service in Condor Ferries livery inside and out during April.
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Launched in 1997, she was initially chartered out as a civilian ferry, then became the first large catamaran to enter military service when she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45) from 1999 to 2001. Following this she operated for Italian company TRIS being chartered to a cross channel ferry company between 2004 - 2008 beofre being laid up in 2008. In 2010 she was purchased and upgraded by Condor Ferries for use on their high speed ferry routes. |
Condor Ferries Press Release regarding Condor Rapide (25/03/10)
Condor Ferries has added a further wave-piercing fast catamaran to its fleet. The new ship, which is called Condor Rapide, is a younger sister of the wellknown ferries Condor Vitesse and Condor Express and will be coming to Weymouth where she will be prepared for service in Condor Ferries livery inside and out during April.
Condor Ferries operates ferry services to Western France and the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey out of Poole, Weymouth and Portsmouth. The 86 metre fast cat will sail between Jersey, Guernsey and St Malo and replaces Condor 10 which had been in service since 1993. She is expected to come into service in late May.
Prior to joining the Condor Ferries fleet which operates from the Dorset ports of Weymouth and Poole the ship sailed for brief periods in Australia, and across the English Channel. She is most notable for her service as part of the Royal Australian Navy when she was known as HMAS Jervis Bay.
The ship was the first large catamaran to be used in a naval capacity and took part in the international peacekeeping taskforce in East Timor transporting troops and aid as well as rescuing people. Condor Ferries Managing Director, Simon Edsall, said: “Our investment in Condor Rapide demonstrates belief in our business and confidence as a
major ferry operator in the Western part of the English Channel.
“She is in excellent condition, her previous owners have invested a seven figure sum in upgrades, and Condor Ferries will spend further substantial sums in the coming months to ensure she meets the highest standards. “This new investment will also help us to meet the extra demand created by the withdrawal of Brittany Ferries’ ‘Barfleur’ service from Poole earlier in the
year,” he added.
Condor Rapide will increase capacity for those wanting to travel from the popular South Coast ports of Weymouth and Poole to St Malo in France with their car this summer. Although the ship is just 12 metres longer than Condor 10, the interior space
in both the passenger areas and on the car deck is significantly larger. This will be particularly evident in areas such as the duty free shop which is almost twice as big
Condor Ferries HSC Condor Rapide Ferry Statistics
- Yard - INCAT - Hobart, Tasmania, Austrailia
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