Truckline Ferries
| Founded | 1973 |
|---|---|
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Fate | absorbed into Brittany Ferries |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | English Channel |
| Services | Passenger transportation Freight transportation |
| Parent | to 1985: CGM / Worms 1985-1999: Brittany Ferries |
Truckline Ferries was a French shipping company that operated passenger and freight services between the United Kingdom and France.
History
In the late 1960s, Poole Harbour Commissioners were considering the option of establishing a terminal for a freight ferry service between Poole and Cherbourg to take advantage of the shortest distance between England and France, west of Dover (64 nautical miles). Reclamation work for the land the terminal was to be built on was commenced in 1971 with completion due two years later.[1]
The following year discussions came to fruition about the formation of an Anglo-French-Australian company to be known as Truckline Ferries, with initial investors being the English; Hambros Bank, Worms & Cie of France and Australian shipping firm; Thomas Nationwide Transport, along with input from Poole Harbour Commissioners’ vice-chairman and local businessman; Peter Allesbrook.[2][3][4]
Truckline Ferries services launched on 29 June 1973 with a crossing by the French-built Poole Antelope (named after a pub on Poole High Street) from Cherbourg to Poole. A second ship was already under construction, to enter service in 1974.[5] The ship and the company were the first RORO ferry to use the new terminal at Poole and the opening of this part of the port helped to address the increasing conflict between the tourist popularity of Poole Quay and the commercial shipping needs of the port.[4]
In July 1985, Brittany Ferries announced they had purchased the company from Worms and CGM for an undisclosed amount. The Truckline name was to be retained on the Poole-Cherbourg service along with staff and the existing fleet.[6]
Operations under the Truckline name ceased in 1999, when Brittany Ferries rebranded the service under their own name.[7]
Fleet
| Name | Built | In service | Tonnage | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poole Antelope | 1973 (Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Le Grand-Quevilly, Rouen, France)[8] | 1973-1976 | 988 GT | Rebuilt in 1989 as a ROPAX ferry for Almar Shipping Co. Ltd, partially rebuilt in 1997 as a passenger ferry for UkrFerry, laid up 2010 as Caledonia in Ilychevsk near Odessa, Ukraine, fate unknown due to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine[8] |
| Dauphin de Cherbourg | 1974 (Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Le Grand-Quevilly, Rouen, France) | 1974-1976 | 1,016 GT[9] | Later flagged in China[10] |
| Cotentin | 1969 (Rickmers Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany)[9] | 1974-1978 | ||
| Dorset (previously Ulster Sportsman)[11] | 1970 (Rickmers Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany)[9] | 1976-1978 | 915 GT[12] | Sank in 2010 at anchorage in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela[11] |
| Suffolk | 1966 (Cantieri Navale Felzsegi S.p.A., Trieste, Italy | 1977, 1978 | 1,211 GT[13] | Sank off Jeddah in the 1990s[14] |
| Coutances | 1978 (Société Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre, Le Havre, France)[9] | 1978-1999 | 2,736 GT | Transferred to Brittany Ferries |
| Purbeck | 1978 (Société Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre, Le Havre, France)[9] | |||
| Tourlaville | ||||
| Cornouailles | 1977 (Trondhjems mekaniske Værksted, Trondheim, Norway) | 1986-1988 | 6,918 GT | Transferred to British Channel Island Ferries, Scrapped at Aliaga Ship Breaking Yard in 2013[15] |
| Armorique | ||||
| Corbière | 1970 (Jos L. Meyer Verft, Papenburg, Germany) | 1989-1991 | 4,371 GT | Scrapped at Aliaga Ship Breaking Yard in 2021[16] |
| Tregastel | 1971 | 1989-1991 | 3,999 GT | Sold to P&O Scottish Ferries |
| Normandie Shipper | 1973 (A Vuyk & Zonen, IJssel, Netherlands) | 1989-1991 | 8,104 GT | Scrapped at Aliaga Ship Breaking Yard in 2013[17] |
| Barfleur | 1992 (Kværner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard, Helsinki, Finland) | 1992-1999 | 20,133 GT | Transferred to Brittany Ferries |
Routes
Former Truckline routes today
The former Truckline route between Poole and Cherbourg continues to be operated by Brittany Ferries using the Barfleur.
References
- ^ Cowsill, Miles (1993). Brittany Ferries: From the Land to the Sea / De la Terre a la Mer (in English and French). Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire: Ferry Publications. ISBN 1-871947-17-0.
- ^ "New Cargo Ferry Link with France". The Daily Telegraph. 27 September 1972. p. 19.
- ^ "Booming TNT Looks Overseas in New Expansion Plans". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 March 1973. p. 23.
- ^ a b Slade, Darren (23 October 2013). "First Ro-Ro Ferry at Poole Hails New Era". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
- ^ "Juggernaut Ship Sails In". Bournemouth Evening Echo. 30 June 1973. p. 1.
- ^ "Brittany Buys Truckline". Southern Evening Echo. 4 July 1985. p. 3.
- ^ "Truckline Ferries - Past and Present". Dover Ferry Photos. Ray Goodfellow and Nigel Thornton. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
- ^ a b Dumelow, Alan (February 2024). "Poole Antelope" (PDF). Poole Maritime Trust Newsletter. pp. 14–16.
- ^ a b c d e "Truckline (France) Ltd" (PDF). Black Jack - Quarterly Magazine Southampton Branch World Ship Society: 10. Autumn 1979. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
- ^ "BIN HAI 504, IMO 736037". Baltic Shipping. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
- ^ a b "M/S DONAUTAL". Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ "MV St Magnus (ex Donautal) - Past and Present". Dover Ferry Photos. Ray Goodfellow and Nigel Thornton. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "SUFFOLK - IMO 6610522". Shipspotting.com. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ "M/S FORENEDE". Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ "M/S CORNOUAILLES". Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "M/S APOLLO". Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
- ^ "M/S STENA SHIPPER". Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 2025-08-02.