© Gary Davies (Maritime Photographic) Steel twin screw motor vessel, built by Schichau Seebeckwerft AG, Bremerhaven ,(Yard No. 1073) Germany for P & O European Ferries in 1992 as a commercial vehicle ferry. Engined by Sulzer Bros. Ltd., Winterthur. Launched December 14th, 1991.
 Technical Data
MMSI Number - 233009000 IMO Number - 9015266 Length - 179.70 m (overall) Breadth of hull - 28.30 m (extreme) Draught - 6.27 m (maximum) Tonnage - 22,986 gross (1991), 30,365 (2002/3) 6,895 net 7,509 deadweight Engines - Four 8ZA 40 S Sulzer Diesels Capacity - 200 passengers, 124 x 15m freight units (1991) 2000 passengers, 650 cars, 120 x 15m commercial vehicles (2002/3) Call Sign - MQCJ2
History December 14th 1991: Launched. June 12th 1992: delivered to P&O European Ferries, Dover, England. June 14th 1992: Arrived at Dover.
© Brian Pawley
June 16th 1992: First voyage between Dover - Zeebrugge leaving Dover at 16:15 hours.
 
© Andreas Wörteler
March 10th 1998: Taken over by P & O Stena Line and operated between Dover - Zeebrugge. P & O Stena Line was a British private sector company, 60% owned by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company and 40% owned by Stena Line AB of Sweden. The new company took over the Dover and Newhaven services of P & O European Ferries and Stena Line. March 3rd 1998: All vessels operate rated under the P & OSL banner. Continued to trade as European Highway.
© Andreas Wörteler
May 14th 1999: Commenced service between Dover - Calais. November 199: Commenced service between Dover - Zeebrügge. 2002: The P & O Stena combine ended . The Dover-Calais fleet adopted the appropriate P & O “Pride of ….” names, the P & OSL labels being dropped….All vessels had their Stena house flag removed from their funnel, along with the deletion of the name Stena from their hulls. October 15th 2002: Continued under the P & O Ferries banner. December 15th 2002: Final voyage between Dover - Zeebrügge Project Darwin With the ending of the P&O Stena Line agreement it was announced by the newly formed P&O Ferries that the ex Zeebrugge freight vessels European Highway and European Pathway would be rebuilt at the German Shipyard of Lloyd Werft. Upon completion of there rebuilds would be placed on the prime Dover-Calais service replacing the PO Kent (ex Sprit of Free Enterprise, Pride of Kent, POSL Kent) and PO Canterbury (ex Fantasia). This move became widely known by it's P&O code name, Project Darwin. It was anticipated that EUROPEAN PATHWAY would leave for Bremerhaven on December 1st 2002, followed later in the month by EUROPEAN HIGHWAY Key features of the converted ships will include: * Passenger capacity up from 200 to 2,000 * More than 5,000 square metres of passenger accommodation * Fifty extra crew cabins * Better manoeuvrability The conversion would take place at the Bremerhaven yard of Lloyd Werft. The rebuilt ferries were to enter service on the Dover-Calais route in April and May (2003). EUROPEAN PATHWAY would re-delivered as PRIDE OF CANTERBURY at the end of April to replace the 1980-built ship of the same name while the EUROPEAN HIGHWAY was being fitted with exhaust scrubbers to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions and, after evaluation , there was scope for retro installation in PRIDE OF CANTERBURY.
 
© Christian Eckardt
June 2nd 2003: Expected at Dover but arrived on Saturday June 7th. June 28th 2003: PRIDE OF KENT and PRIDE OF CANTERBURY ships were officially named in a ceremony at the new cruise terminal on Dover’s Admiralty Pier extension.
 
The DFP Collection
June 14th 2003: Entered service Dover - Calais Personal Note: 29th July 2003: At 12:16 (BST) the Pride of Kent was stopped mid channel on her way back from Calais at position 51°025N 01°359E. Senior master Captain David Miller carried out a funeral service in which the ashes of my late step father Alan Sugden were duly returned to his second home, the sea.
 
© Ray Goodfellow (left) and Nigel Thornton (right)
2004: At refit bridge wings upper leading edges painted white to distinguish her from her sister. March 29th 2005: Left Dover for refit and gearbox replacement at ARNO, Dunkerque. May 5th 2005: Returned to service. 2006: Still in service on the Dover-Calais service.
© Ray Goodfellow
May 2nd 2006: At Falmouth for refit lasting two weeks. May 16th (?) 2006: Completed refit and returned to service. April 10th 2007: Stood down from service and proceeded to CT2 (Cruise Terminal 2) for a deployment of her Marin Arc evacuation system before proceeding to A&P at Falmouth where she is due to arrive on the 12/4/2007. April 12th 2007: Arrived Falmouth for refit. April 30th 2007: Refit complete, departed Falmouth for Dover. December 15th 2007: At 2200 UTC in light winds and good visibility a close quarters situation occurred between Queen Elizabeth 2 and Pride of Kent. Queen Elizabeth 2, on passage from Zeebrugge to Southampton, was south west bound in the Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme. Her track was biased to the starboard side of the traffic lane. Pride of Kent departed Dover for a scheduled voyage to Calais, observing the voluntary separation scheme established for ferry operators. As the vessels approached, a close quarters situation developed in which Queen Elizabeth 2 was required to give way. When it became apparent that no avoiding action was being taken by Queen Elizabeth 2, Pride of Kent reduced her speed allowing Queen Elizabeth 2 to pass 0.6mile ahead of Pride of Kent. There were no injuries to personnel and no pollution. Action taken: Following the accident, the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents has considered the actions taken by both the companies and is satisfied with the steps they have taken to prevent future accidents. Cunard Line will: Send a letter to the fleet that describes the incident, identifies lessons learnt and provides actions to prevent future recurrence. Provide further development of company specific Bridge Resource Management training.Implement their recently rewritten, and currently trialled, Bridge Resource Management Procedures. P&O Ferries will: Carry out an internal investigation that will result in a review of bridge procedures throughout the fleet and identify actions to avoid similar situations in the future. Published: MARCH 2008 May 2nd 2008: To A & P Falmouth for refit.
 
© Ray Goodfellow
May 25th 2008: Departed Falmouth for Dover. May 21st 2008: Resumed service. March 27th 2009: Anticipated arrival at ARNO, Dunkerque for mini-refit.
© Robert Fournier
April 3rd 2009: Returned to Dover. April 18th 2009: Stood down from service for MES Deployment etc. April 23rd 2009: Resumed. March 10th 2010: Marinarc deployment at Cruise Terminal 1 Prior to departure for refit. March 10th 2010: Left Dover for refit on the Tyne lasting 16 days. March 11th 2010: Arrived Tyne. March 27th 2010: Departed Tyne.
 
© Kevin Blair
March 28th 2010: Arrived at Dover and resumed service.
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