Isle of Innisfree is a remarkable ship. She is one of the longest-serving car ferries in the history of the Channel crossing, notching up 32 years of service and counting. She is also one of just two ferries which have operated on all five of Dover’s routes to the Continent at different times: Boulogne, Calais, Dunkirk, Ostend and Zeebrugge.
She has sailed for no fewer than seven ferry companies during her career, worn 12 different liveries at various stages, and been known by no fewer than ten names. She has never ventured outside the jurisdiction of the English Channel except for visits to shipyards. She is now considered a classic: a superferry from a bygone era of all-enclosed vehicle decks, accommodation right up to the stern end, and a traditional shipshape appearance.
1991-98 PRINS FILIP
This historic ship began life in the early 1990s. In 1989 Regie voor Maritime Transport (RMT), Belgium’s state-owned shipping company, received funding to build their first new ferry since of 1978. This vessel was to give the Dover/Ostend service a new flagship. To be named she was built
