STENA HOLLANDICA ready for sea at Harwich

Photos taken on board STENA HOLLANDICA at Harwich, 18.11.2016, the ship has her engines running and is ready for sea and her seven hours sailing to Hoek Van Holland

STENA BRITANNICA with a message of reflection

"STENA BRITANNICA" is a mega cruise ferry operated by STENA LINE on the Harwich to Hoek Van Holland route, seven hours is the time she needs to cross the North Sea, the ship can cruise at a maximum speed of over 22 knots but she needs, normally, an average of only 16 to do the trip. Recently the ship has been to her biggest refit since she was introduced in 2010, during this period of dry dock, apart from the usual maintenance, new scrubbers were installed to comply with the new environmental legislations, she was also painted with a sort of "green waves" on her upper superstructure, in my opinion she looks really smart, the "green waves" not everybody's cup of tea, but she looks much nicer live than in photos, most importantly, the ship emerged from the refit with a message of reflection and union "CONNECTING EUROPE FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE",  a simple message of reflection for all Europeans in times of uncertainty. "STENA BRITANNICA" still looks a very elegant cruise ferry, the scrubbers hardly changed her looks, the huge size of her funnel could easily accommodate the new filters, the new funnel top, hardly changes her profile, The ship is seen here departing Hoek Van Holland at 14.00 hours C.E.T. time on the 19.11.2016

"Stena Plus Lounge" on board STENA HOLLANDICA

STENA PLUS LOUNGE is a quite room on board super ferries STENA HOLLANDICA and STENA BRITANNICA, for an extra charge, about £14 at today's currency, this is the place to work, relax or keep up on that book, free refreshments newspapers and magazines are part of the package, very civilized atmosphere, these photos were taken today aboard the HOLLANDICA, 18.11.2016

"STENA HOLLANDICA" arriving Hoek Van Holland with stormy seas

What a contrast to the previous entry, photos taken from the "STENA HOLLANDICA" arriving at Hoek Van Holland, despite strong winds and force 7 and plus, the ship arrived on time, it was actually a comfortable ride for the not so many passengers on this crossing. Photos 18.11.2016

Leaving Harwich on STENA HOLLANDICA

This morning despite the cold, the weather was so favourable for photography, beautiful clear blue skies with a wonderful light, a fabulous setting view from on board a fabulous ship, the 2010 built "STENA HOLLANDICA", the ship departed at 9am with ETA Hoek Van Holland at 5.15pm. Photos 18.11.2016

"PRINCESS SEAWAYS" arriving Ijmuiden in the Netherlands

"PRINCESS SEAWAYS" was built in 1986 as the PETER PAN, today the ship is owned and operated by DFDS on the Newcastle to Ijmuiden route, she sails from North Shields, six miles north of the city of Newcastle in the evening and gets to Ijmuiden about 25 miles from Amsterdam the following morning, together with KING SEAWAYS these ships operate a daily service connecting the UK with the NETHERLANDS. The photos selected for this "post" show the ship arriving at Ijmuiden and were taken on the 27th of October 2016. I have sailed this year five times on the ship, she is a fabulous cruise ferry offering passengers an excellent service, throughout the ship there are marvellous exhibits of former DFDS ships, she has a proper ship's ambiance, I can't get enough of her and her sister, the KING SEAWAYS.

"BLUE RIBAND" Restaurant on board PRINCESS SEAWAYS

"BLUE RIBAND", A La Carte Restaurant aboard DFDS cruise ferry PRINCESS SEAWAYS, photos 20.10.2016

Offshore support ship "EDT JANE"

EDT JANE is an offshore support ship, built in 2013 she is just under 5000 G.T. and is registered in Cyprus, photos taken at Ijmuiden, 27.10.2016

Pipe Layer "AUDACIA" at Ijmuiden

"AUDACIA" is a Pipe Layer ship operated by ALLSEAS, she was originally a bulk carrier built in 2005 and later converted to her present role, she arrived at Ijmuiden in Holland mid October for a refit that will last until March of next year, she is docked at the "Felison Cruise Terminal", the ship has a G.T. of 52000 with a crew of over 220 people, at present she has only 30 crew members working on the ship for the maintenance taking place, "AUDACIA" is operated all over the World. Photos 27.10.2016

"PRINCESS SEAWAYS" cruising at 16 knots

"PRINCESS SEAWAYS" of DFDS is seen here during her final approach to Ijmuiden, the ship was cruising at 16 knots just about an hour before reaching the breakwater of the Port of Ijmuiden, nearing the end of her crossing from Newcastle in the UK, it was a night of some movement when the ship encountered force 7 winds, early morning on our approach, we were greeted with a wonderful warm sunshine for the delight of the passengers, many passengers on board, the ship was nearly full, which is always very good to register, photos 21.10.2016

IJMUIDEN fishing vessels photography

Every time I am at Ijmuiden after disembarking my cruise ferry from the UK, last Friday was the "PRINCESS SEAWAYS, I had the opportunity for some ship spotting, I just love to spend some time photographing the fishing vessels, they are always plenty and so inviting, Friday was the day that many returned from a week at sea, fishermen going home for the weekend, before returning to sea on Monday, not an easy life, as one of the fishermen was telling me, we both watched his vessel maneuvering, last photo in this selection, taken 21.10.2016

"MARKO POLO" of JADROLINIJA at Ancona

It was such an occasion to be able to photograph this ship, a first for me, the "MARKO POLO" of 1973, she has been operated by JADROLINIJA on the Split to Ancona route since 1988, she is just over 10.000 G.T., the ship reminded me straight away of my beloved EAGLE of Southern Ferries built in 1971. "MARKO POLO" is registered in Rijeka, over 40 years old now the ship really looks very well looked after, not exactly showing her age, photos taken at Ancona on the 23.9.2016