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January 28th 1975: Launched.
May 1975: Delivered to RMT (Registered to Cobelfret S.A., Conim S.A. & Ubem S.A.).
May 24th 1975: Maiden voyage to Dover, then continued Ostend - Dover.
 
© Brian Fisher (left) and Stéphane Poulain Collection (right)
November 28th 1975: Badly damaged at Dover during the course of a gale, crashing into No.2 car ferry terminal at the Eastern Docks and rendered her bow door unserviceable.
April 11th 1978: Hit the Southern Breakwater at Dover, damaged herself above the waterline on arrival from Ostend.
May 30th 1979: In collision with the German coaster ELEONORA in the Channel near the Goodwin Sands. The German vessel, sailing from Casablanca to Felixstowe, sank within about 15 minutes.
March 3rd 1985: Re-opened the Admiralty Pier ramp at Dover after modifications.
© Fotoflite, Nigel Thornton Collection
1985: The news of a stretching programme, or “jumboization” as it is often known, was announced, but it only originally planned to deal with the PRINSES MARIA-ESMERALDA and the PRINCESSE MARIE-CHRISTINE, leaving the PRINS ALBERT untouched. By cutting the ships horizontally and inserting an extra lorry deck, their capacity was raised from 46 to 55 pieces of freight. The “PME” had her work completed at the end of May 1985 while the “PMC” re-entered service in January 1986. All work was carried out at J, Boel (Shipyards) in Temse, Belgium.
May 29th 1985: Sea trials after rebuild
© Fotoflite, Nigel Thornton Collection
June 9th 1985: Resumed in commercial service Ostend - Dover.
© Brian Fisher
October 25th 1985: Belgians entered into negotiations with Townsend Thoresen and an agreement was concluded.
April 23rd 1986: Suffered a minor fire in an electrical locker and the damage was repaired at Boelwerf, Antwerp.
January 15th 1987: Collided with a container ship, and suffered minor damage to her stern and one of her propellers.
January 17th 1987: Sailed to Mercantile, Antwerp for repairs.
October 1987: The agreement with Townsend Thoresen (The European Ferries Group) was duly passed on to P&O European Ferries and was due to end in December 1990: The Ostend ships all received the Townsend Thoresen orange colours and carried their trading name.
 
© Brian Fisher
1987/88 (refit): A completely new livery, reflecting that carried by the P & O European Ferries fleet, was adopted. For the first time in the history of the Dover-Ostend service, the buff (later changed to a lighter shade of yellow) funnels were painted- out in favour of a shade of blue.
 
© Fotoflite, Nigel Thornton Collection (left) and the Stéphane Poulain Collection (right)
1991: The creation of a totally new marketing profile and the adoption of the name with which the line has officially been known since the early days, sees the fleet in its fourth livery in seven years. The first to receive it was the PRINS ALBERT during her overhaul at Ostend in November and December 1990.
1991: Commenced service for Dover -Oostende Lines.
 
© Andreas Wörteler (left) and the Stéphane Poulain Collection (right)
1992: Withdrawn from service.
1993 (end): Announced that the Belgian company did not intend to renew its marketing agreement with P & O , but instead concluded a deal with Sally Line. With effect from the following January RMT became known simply as Oostende Lines , transferring all its Ostend services, including Jetfoil operations from Dover to Sally’s base at Ramsgate
 
© Andreas Wörteler
1994: Laid-up in Ostend.
1995: Sold to Denval Marine, (Registered to Celine Shipping Co. Ltd., Limassol, Cyprus) renamed the WISTERIA
© Fotoflite, Stéphane Poulain Collection
May 1st 1995: Left Ostend for Koper ,and used on the services between Trieste - Koper - Bar - Durres.
June 23rd 1995: Chartered to Cotunav, Tunis, Tunisia. Commenced service between Tunis - Genoa - Naples.
1995: Commenced service with Transeuropa Line between Trieste - Koper - Durres - Brindisi, occasionally between Bari - Durres.
1997: Chartered to Limadet Ferries. Renamed BENI ANSAR. Operated between Almeria - Nador.
© Frank Lose
January 1998: Returned from charter, renamed WISTERIA. Operated between Bari - Durres.
May 1999 - September 30th 1999: Operated services between America - Nador, chartered toLignes Maritimes du Detroit (Limadet), Tangier.
May 1999: Operated between Almeria - Nador.
September 30th 1999 - November 30th 1999: Refitted in Dunkerque.
 
© Andreas Wörteler
December 1999: Commenced service between Bari - Durres.
2000: Sold to Lignes Maritimes du Detroit (Limadet), Nador, Morocco. Renamed BENI ANSAR.
© Frank Lose
May 2000: Commenced service between Almeria - Nador.
January 2007: Advertised for sale.
© Frank Lose
July 2007: Reportedly sold to India for scrap.
23rd August 2007: “The ferry 'Beni Ansar' which has now been renamed 'AQABA EXPRESS' has been impounded in Almería port by the Ministry for the Environment.
The ship has been held there since July 12 as the Ministry tries to stop it being sent for scrap in India. Such scrapping is carried out on beaches in India, without any safety or toxicity controls, and the Ministry wants to ensure that before the vessel sets sale that oil, fuel, batteries and other chemicals on board are removed.
It's the first case of its kind in Spain and the ship scrap-yard is reported to be angry at the delays.
The ship owners say there is nowhere in the EU to scrap such a vessel, and they were planning to scrap the vessel in Romania and not India anyway. ”
 
© Fred Wood
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Technical Data
History
