MS Isle of Inishmore (1996)
MS Isle of Inishmore heading towards Rosslare. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Isle of Inishmore |
| Operator | Irish Ferries |
| Port of registry | |
| Route | |
| Builder | Van der Giessen de Noord |
| Cost | IR£60 million |
| Yard number | 968 |
| Laid down | December 1995 |
| Launched | 4 October 1996 |
| Completed | February 1997 |
| In service | March 1997 |
| Identification | IMO number: 9142605 |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 34,031 GT 5,860 DWT |
| Length | 182.5 m (598 ft 9 in) |
| Beam | 27.8 m (91 ft 2 in) |
| Draught | 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in) |
| Decks | 11 |
| Deck clearance |
|
| Ramps | Internal 3.23 m (10 ft 7 in) wide ramp for single-level loading |
| Ice class | 1A |
| Installed power | 4x Sulzer 8ZA40S diesel engines, 6,000 kW each (total 24,000kW) + 2 LIPS 2,400kW bow thrusters |
| Propulsion | 2x LIPS 4.8m four-blade variable pitch propellers |
| Speed | 21.5 knots |
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | up to 140 |
| Notes | Shares hull form with Stena Jutlandica |
MS Isle of Inishmore is a ro-ro ferry owned by Irish Ferries and operated on their Dover-Calais service. At the time of her introduction, she was the largest car ferry operating in Northern Europe. She is named after Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. The name of the ferry is tautologous, since "Inishmore" derives from the Irish for "big island". Despite not being sister ships, the ship's design is copied from the Stena Line vessel Stena Jutlandica up until the superstructure.