48 YEARS 1975 - 2023 Theme vessel: P&O PIONEER. Register of all ro-pax ferries (N to Z illustrated), cruise ships and ro-ro ships. SHIPPAX GUIDE23PHOTO: JOHN MAYPUBLISHED BY: Shippax AB PO Box 7067 SE-300 07 HALMSTAD Sweden Tel: +46 35 218370 info@shippax.se www.shippax.com Published annually since 1975. Shippax also produces Shippax Designs ( annually), Shippax Market (annually), Shippax Info (monthly) and Shippax Database (online). PRICE: SEK 995 – EUR 85 – USD 93 Airmail postage will be added. Fixed price in SEK. Rates of exchange may vary. SUBSCRIPTION: subscription@shippax.se If you have ordered this copy of SHIPPAX GUIDE 23 directly from the publisher, a copy of SHIPPAX GUIDE 24 will be automatically forwarded to you next year on the assump- tion that you will not want to miss out on the important industry information and our expert analyses. Should you decide not to continue with the subscription, please let us know in advance so that we may remove you from our list of subscribers. PUBLISHER: Elizabeth Mandersson elizabeth@shippax.se ADVERTISING: advertising@shippax.se PRINTED AND BOUND BY: By Wind, Ödeshög, Sweden FRONTCOVER PHOTO: Simon Boulanger • Contributing authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors. • Information believed to be correct but cannot be guaranteed. • No reprint or further distribution without written permission by Shippax. © Shippax AB, Halmstad, Sweden SHIPPAXGUIDE is owned by Shippax AB, reg.no. 556937-9414 ISSN: 0282-8898 SHIPPAX GUIDE The register. With theme articles. SHIPPAX MARKET Market reports & outlook. Traffic statistics. SHIPPAXDESIGNS New prototypes. With theme articles. SHIPPAX GUIDEUpfront SHIPPAXGUIDE23 · 3 Back in 2011, we devoted DESIGNS 11 to the SPIRIT OF BRITAIN, at that time the latest addition to P&O Ferries' fleet between Dover and Calais. Twelve years on, we were back on the Channel with this GUIDE – now in order to visit and review the P&O PIONEER, a truly pioneering vessel which has thrilled us from the day her building contract was signed. We look forward to take you onboard this brand-new double- end Ro-Pax with us – for a look at the amazing pas- senger facilities sporting a truly innovative design and a genuinely new travel experience, but as much also for a look into the technologic aspects which we believe to set standards far beyond the Dover-Calais route. The P&O PIONEER is a pioneer in every sence of the word, and we feel that she will definitely leave her innovative footprints in the ferry industry's road towards a zero-emission future. Visiting a new P&O ferry is always exciting – it was like that when we prepared DESIGNS 11, and it has again been so as we compiled this GUIDE. This time, however, we were facing an additional excitement (and challenge). As this Upfront was written (and our publication about to go to the printers), the P&O PIONEER had made her first commercial crossing barely 24 hours ago, on 19 June 2023! As we were nevertheless keen to present the vessel to you, our valued readers, as early as possible, this timing meant that we had to prepare the GUIDE before our theme ship was actually commissioned for commercial operation – another innovation, this time one for Shippax. Usually we review (and photograph) our theme vessel during normal operation with passen- gers onboard – in case of the P&O PIONEER it was quite different, and you may actually notice that some of our photos lack the 'human factor' of passengers travelling and enjoying themselves. We nevertheless believe it was worth the effort to present this stun- ning ship to the industry as early as possible. While the P&O PIONEER is a pioneering vessel herself, we also believe that the ports of Dover and Calais, that the whole line and its operation boast many interesting elements of innovation and inspira- tion. By the way, do you actually remember when and where you first saw a crew member (or a dock work- er) wearing one of those yellow work safety vests which are today industry standard, even on small fer- ries and on local routes? We recently wondered about it in our team – and seemed to remember that it actu- ally was on a photo taken at Dover back in the 1990s. As said, a visit to this port (and Calais obviously just as much) is always a source of inspiration, sometimes even with regard to the small details (which, after all, matter a lot in our business – particularly when it comes to safety). Certainly we are not the first generation to find Dover-Calais as well as the operation and the ships between those ports inspiring. Earlier 'ferry people' will have been just as excited as we are today – prob- ably in 1962 as the first new Townsend ferry arrived, and certainly back in 1980 as the SPIRIT OF FREE ENTERPRISE launched a new ship design just as revolutionary as that of the P&O PIONEER today. Unfortunately, Shippax failed to devote a GUIDE or DESIGNS to this pioneering vessel. At least, 43 years on, we now devoted an article to her and all the other exciting earlier ship designs down the evolutionary road towards the P&O PIONEER in this GUIDE! And we have also looked at the other operators trading besides P&O between Dover and Calais, analysing the market as a whole. As always, we would like to thank DP World / P&O and all those who contributed to this GUIDE for their support. Please enjoying reading – and exploring the P&O PIONEER! The Shippax Team PHOTO: JAKE MCLEODBuilding ships for special purposes and harsh conditions with skills and enthusiasm trusted for centuries P.O. Box 55, Suojantie 5, FI-26101 Rauma, Finland Phone: +358 30 600 54 00 info@RMCfinland.fi E-mails: firstname.lastname@RMCfinland.fi Newbuilding Products: Håkan Enlund: +358-400 36 55 32 Life-cycle Services: Markku Uusitalo: +358-400 22 52 68 PHOTO: GEORGE GIANNAKISactemium.se BIGGER. BETTER. TOGETHER. OPS – Onshore Power Supply Experts in construction, installation and deployment of OPS facilities Actemium is the leading supplier of onshore power connections – OPS. OPS connections for docked ships create an improved environment and is a valuable service for ports to offer to shipowners. We have built the most OPS facilities in the Nordic region. Now we are preparing for facilities across Europe and the first out is France. Our unique offer of Mobile Power Solutions to ships, complements the fixed facilities and shows the wide expertise of Actemium in this area. 6 · SHIPPAXGUIDE23 www.shippax.com Upfront 3 Onboard Report 10 A tour through the passenger areas of the P&O PIONEER The Channel technology champion 38 A technical onboard report of the P&O PIONEER General Arrangement 54 Peter Hebblethwaite on the new P&O 56 An interview with Peter Hebblethwaite P&O's Dover-Calais ferry design progress 62 New vitality and fresh dynamism for the Dover-Calais ferry business 78 Pushmi-Pullyu Ferries 86 A brief history A-Z Register Ferry 94 A-Z Register Cruise 170 A-Z Register Ro-Ro 190 Advertisers’ index 224 CONTENTS COVER PHOTO: SIMON BOULANGER 10 78 56SHIPPAXGUIDE23 · 7 www.shippax.com 86 62 38Next >