P O Channel Ferry - Tickets Ferries

Useful General P O Channel Ferry Information

You will find lots of P O Channel Ferry information and resources here at ferryireland. Ferries come in all shapes and sizes, from small cable ferries all the way up to almost cruise boat size proportions. Ferry crossings from the mainland UK to Europe are as popular as ever due to the increasing demand for European travel.

The Channel Tunnel has only served to make the ferry boat operators more competitive and real fare bargains are now regularly offered.

P&O Ferries was formed after the Stena Line sold its 40% share in P&O Stena Line in 2002. P&O Portsmouth and P&O North Sea Ferries merged into the P&O Ferries operation and managed from Dover. Prior to the P&O Stena joint venture, operations from Dover, Felixstowe, Portsmouth and Cairnryan were all conducted under the P&O European Ferries name. P&O European Ferries was the name given to the operations of Townsend Thoresen after the P&O group purchased them in 1987. Townsend Thoresen was formed in 1968 after Townsend Brothers Ferries combined forces with Thoresen Car Ferries.

The cross-Channel ferry route was established in 1841. This was to ensure that there was a link between the British and the continental rail networks.

Cities that are surrounded by waterways such as Venice use ferries extensively as part of their public transport system. In such cases ferries are employed to do the work of bridges and tunnels as their relative capital cost is much lower. These foot passenger only ferries are sometimes called waterbuses or even water taxis.

A boat or a ship carrying passengers and sometimes their vehicles, on scheduled services is often reffered to as a ferry. Certain ferries are even able to transport railroad cars and other large cargo depending on their size.

Irish Ferry operator Irish Continental Group plc known locally as Irish Ferries operates on the following routes. Dublin to Holyhead and from Rosslare to Roscoff, Cherbourg, and Pembroke. Irish Ferries was formed in 1972 and it's first operations were between Rosslare and Le Havre. In 1992, Irish Ferries took over B & I Line which operated ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead. The company's flagship ferry "Ulysses", is the world's largest car ferry.

Stena Line was founded by Sten Allan Olsson when he acquired Skagenlinjen in 1962 and is one of the world's largest ferry operators. Stena Line has ferry services around the UK and Scandinavia. In 1990 Stena Line doubled it's size with the acquisition of Sealink British Ferries. After a number of name changes the company is now known locally as Stena Line (UK) and operate all of Stena’s ferry services between the UK and Northern Ireland.

Waterjet powered Catamarans that can carry over 350 cars and more than 1000 foot passengers are also used in the English Channel and Irish Sea crossings. Stena Line own and operate one of the largest Catamarans in the world.

When does a ferry become a cruise ship? There is often a fine line between the two and is usually a matter of where the ship docks and for how long. Put another way, the purpose of journey plays more of a part than the ship itself. The Baltic Sea has many such ships that sail between Sweden and Finland.

Superfast Ferries an Attica Group company was formed in 1995 and is based in Athens, Greece, together with Blue Star Ferries. Superfast Ferries operates lines in the: Adriatic Sea: Ancona and Bari, Italy - Igoumenitsa and Patras, Greece; Baltic Sea: Rostock, Germany - Hanko, Finland; North Sea: Zeebrugge, Flanders - Rosyth, Scotland.

Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that operates between France, Spain, the UK and Ireland. The company was founded by Alexis Gouvernnec in January 1973. The first operations were between Roscoff in Brittany and Plymouth in the South West of England. The company was originally called BAI (Bretagne-Angleterre-Irelande).

Useful Ferry Information