DFDS Seaways MS King of Scandinavia - Ferry History
MS King of Scandinavia is a cruiseferry operated and owned by the Danish shipping company DFDS Seaways on a route connecting Newcastle, England to IJmuiden in the Netherlands. She was built in 1987 as MS Nils Holgersson by Schichau Unterweser, Bremerhaven, West Germany for TT-Line. Between 1993 and 2006 the ship was named MS Val de Loire, owned by Brittany Ferries and used on traffic across the English Channel. For full information on DFDS Seaways - Click Here.
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MS Nils Holgersson 1987–1993 - The MS Nils Holgersson (fourth ship to bear the name in TT-Line's fleet) was built as the younger sister of the MS Peter Pan. The sisters were notably larger than any ships to have sailed for TT-Line before. Originally the Nils Holgersson was ordered by Ab Swecarrier (owners of TT-Line), but during construction she was sold to Wallenius Rederiet.
When she was delivered in February 1987 the ship was bareboat-chartered back to Swecarrier, and began service between Trelleborg (Sweden) and Travemünde (West Germany) in June of the same year. In February 1992 the ship was sold to SweFerry, but kept in the same traffic. |
MS Val de Loire 1993–2006 - In January 1993 the Nils Holgersson was sold to Brittany Ferries and renamed MS Val de Loire. Before entering service for her new owners, the ship was rebuilt at INMA, La Spezia, Italy with a new streamliner forward superstructure, a new bow door and refurbished interiors. Inside the theme used was "Maritime Tradition", with many artifacts and ship models on display in her public areas. The facilities on board Val de Loire were very similar in style to those found on board the Normandie and the Barfleur. The Val de Loire was the first Brittany Ferries vessel to include a swimming pool, though when the ship was transferred to the Portsmouth–St Malo route it was rarely open.
After the rebuild was completed in June 1993, the ship entered service on Brittany Ferries' Plymouth–Santander route, as well as Plymouth–Roscoff and Cork–Roscoff. In 2004 the new MV Pont-Aven replaced the Val de Loire on her old routes, and she was transferred to serve on the Portsmouth–St Malo and Portsmouth–Cherbourg routes . In November 2005 the Val de Loire was sold to DFDS Seaways for delivery in 2006. Her final crossing with Brittany Ferries was between Portsmouth and Cherbourg on 20 February 2006.
MS King of Scandinavia 2006–present - In February 2006 the Val de Loire ended her service with Brittany Ferries and was renamed MS King of Scandinavia (she is the third ship of the same name to sail with DFDS Seaways). Between 2 and 11 March she was refitted for her new service in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and on 11 March she began serving on DFDS Seaways' Newcastle - IJmuiden route, running parallel to MS Queen of Scandinavia. In May 2007 the MS Queen of Scandinavia swapped routes with MS Princess of Norway, a sister ship of the King of Scandinavia.
DFDS Seaways MS King of Scandinavia Decks
- Engine room
- Seaways-class cabins, crew gym, crew cabins (for waiters)
- Cardeck
- Car platform, can be lowered hydraulically.
- Seaways-class cabins
- Adventure club spa, seaways-class cabins, crew cabins (for catering assistants)
- Youth@club, information desk, bureau de change, tax free shops, children's playroom, Baresso Coffee, commodore and seaways-class cabins, crew cabins (for shop assistants and galley assistants)
- Seven Seas buffét restaurant, Latitude Café, Blue Riband restaurant, Explorer's restaurant, Navigator's Bar, Marco Polo restaurant, Red & White wine bar, Columbus night club
- Heaven 11 club & discothèque commodore-class cabins, crew mess, crew cabins (stewardess and deck hands)
- Heaven 11 club & discothèque (second floor), Conference Centre, crew cabins (catering officers)
- Commodore de luxe lounge, commodore balcony cabins, crew cabins (deck officers)
- Bridge
DFDS Seaways MS King of Scandinavia Ferry Statistics
- Gross Tonnage: 31,360
- Length: 161.5 m
- Beam: 27.6 m
- Vehicle Capacity: 550 cars
- Built: 1986
- Passengers: 1850
- Service Speed: 21 knots
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