 | TOWNSEND THORESEN CAR FERRIES |
The founder was a Norwegian gentleman called Otto Thoresen who for a number of years had been employed by Fred Olsen as a manager on a Mediterranean service. His first encounter with indifferent service was in the fifties when he was attempting to get from Dunkerque to Dover. With inclement weather closing the port he travelled to Dieppe caught a different British Rail Ferry only to arrive extremely late for his meeting. Whilst on board he observed the appalling conditions and service which passengers were subjected to saying 'you needn't be a genius to do better than this'.
Up until the early sixties both French and British Railways ran a virtual monopoly in the Pas de Calais also it operated a rather piecemeal service from Weymouth and Southampton leaving the West open to anyone with entrepreneurial presence of mind.
In January of 1963 Otto Thoresen with the aid of James Burness & Sons Ltd entered into negotiations with the Port Authorities of Southampton, Weymouth and Cherbourg with a view to starting a new ferry service. The announcement that a Norwegian Group with British and other interests was about to commence a new ferry company appeared in Lloyds List.
After negotiations Southampton got the nod over Weymouth because it was able to guarantee that a berth and facilities would be available from1964 onwards. In early 1963 shipyards in Britain, France, Germany and Scandinavia were invited to tender for the building of the first ship, in the end the yard of Kaldness M/V A/S Tonsberg of Norway was awarded the contract. The order was placed by the new Company - Otto Thoresen Shipping Company A/S and the service was to be known as the 'Southampton-Cherbourg Car Ferry Service'.
In September of 1963 British Rail finally announced its intentions to close its operations out of Southampton preferring instead to operate its service from Dover and Newhaven. This caused a huge outcry from the public and local Authorities who claimed that British interests were being overridden thus allowing foreign owned Companies to commence trading, there ensued a public enquiry which took place in the November. It was declared by British Rail at the enquiry that it could not continue to lose the publics money and therefore it felt that there was no other option but to concentrate on its services from Newhaven. After over thirty objections were heard from local authorities and the public the Minister of Transport ruled in British Rail's favour but only on the understanding that it maintained the service until Thoresen's were ready to take over.
Otto Thoresen has also declared an interest in operating other services from Le Havre and St. Malo although the latter was never realised. Whilst negotiations were underway with Port Authorities in Le Havre Thoresens announced that a second ship had been ordered again from the yard in Norway. It was not simply ordered on the strength of negotiations but on advanced bookings for the first ship and the enthusiasm being displayed on both sides of the Channel and Norway. To raise the required capital to finance the buildings the Company raised its share capital from 7 to 12.5 million krone.
It was announced at a shareholders meeting on the 25th September in Oslo that the new ships would be the first drive through ships to serve on the channel and that each would have the capacity to carry 180 cars, 940 passengers of which there was sleeping accommodation for 300. The first ship was to be delivered on the 2nd of April 1964 the hulls were to be painted orange with the superstructure white, the loans for the ships were spread over an eight year period and both Ferry Terminals were under construction.
A further announcement in November declared that the Company anticipated that the service with the first ship would commence on the 11th May with the second ship starting on the 1st August. Fares were to be £2.87.5 p (£2 17s 6d) adult single, car £4.50 (£4 10s) single and a cycle 50p (10s) single. At a press conference held in London the Company announced the names of the two ships were to be Viking I and Viking II, that the service onboard was to be first class and in their opinion the ships could be unloaded in less than fifteen minutes, unprecedented at the time. Viking I's keel had been laid in the October and she was launched three months later by the wife of Otto Thoresen on the 29th April after speed trials where she achieved 20.5 knots were completed the ship was finally handed over.
VIKING I
Viking I
Built: 1964 by Kaldness M/V A/S, Tonsberg, Norway.
Tonnage: 3, 671g, 1, 785n, 1, 199dwt.
Engines Twin Screw, 2 x 4SA, 12 Cylinder Pielsticks, 10, 200 BHP, Service Speed 19 Knots, Variable Pitch Propellers.
Passengers: 940, cars 180.
Launched 31st January 1964, completed 29th April 1964. Yard No. 158.
It was announced by the Company that Viking I would enter service four days ahead of schedule on the 7th May but due to unforeseen mechanical problems she in fact took up her scheduled service on the preset date of May the 11th.
On the day after Viking I was handed over Viking II was launched by three schoolgirls in what turned out to be a publicity coup by the Company. Seventeen-year-old Kay Hollingsworth of Southampton, Françoise Ninn of Cherbourg and Marie Helene Grosos of Le Havre had travelled to Tonsberg by air and after the ceremony was completed sailed on the Viking I bound for Cherbourg.
Viking I sailed at 1030 on the morning of the 11th May with slightly less than maximum load of 170 cars, the first car on board was that of the Mayor of Southampton after arriving in Cherbourg discharging and back loading Viking I returned to Southampton thus completing her first round trip. After a few days night sailings were introduced and in the first three weeks of operation she carried 13, 000 passengers and 3, 500 cars.
Viking I on Berth 7, Southampton.
Otto Thoresen broke another taboo prevalent on cross channel ferries he actually wanted passengers to enjoy the journey and to consider the crossing as part of their holidays in this he achieved a notable success. He also introduced the delights of Scandinavian cuisine to the travelling public, primarily Smorgasbord (cold table) and at a price that anyone could afford, 15 shillings (75p) for as much as you could eat. This culinary delight was still in evidence when I joined my first Thoresen ship in 1975 and by then was still quite affordable at £5 a go.
Otto Thoresen in front of Viking II
In the beginning accompanied freight vehicles suffered huge amounts of red tape on both sides of the channel, through sheer dogged determination and with the help of business partner Worms et CIE of France eventually all the hurdles were overcome and the ease at which lorries travel today are all down to Otto Thoresen's perseverance.
At a Board Meeting in July of 1964 it was decided to order a third ferry, Viking III, remarkable after just two months of operating its service. The order was duly placed with the West German yard of Orenstein-Koppel and Lubecker Masch A/G. Viking II entered service on the 19th of July joining her sister on the Southampton- Cherbourg route.
VIKING II
Viking II
Built: 1964 by Kaldness M/V A/S, Tonsberg, Norway.
Tonnage: 3, 670g, 1, 784n, 1, 219dwt.
Engines Twin Screw, 2 x 4SA, 12 Cylinder Pielsticks, 10, 200 BHP, Service Speed 19 Knots, Variable Pitch Propellers.
Passengers: 940, cars 180.
Launched 30th April 1964, completed 15th July 1964. Yard No. 160.
Viking II Inaugural Visit to Le Havre
On July the 20th Viking I switched routes and commenced on the Southampton- Le Havre service. On the 5th of October Thoresen and James Burness & Sons Ltd, who had been instrumental in setting up the services, went their separate ways with the acknowledgement from Thoresens as to the importance played by Burness in establishing the business. In the quieter winter season it was decided to send Viking I on a round Britain goodwill tour but as it clashed with pre-set dates for her first refit it was Viking II who eventually did the trip. The ship visited Liverpool, Avonmouth, Southampton, Hull, Newcastle and Leith with a record 10, 000 visitors in Liverpool alone having a glimpse at the future of cross Channel car ferries.
The Launch of Viking III
Viking III was launched at Lubeck by Mrs Roald Auckner wife of one of the Company's Directors on the 10th March 1965, on her arrival the Company would be able to offer two sailings a day to both Le Havre and Cherbourg.
Viking III differed slightly from her sisters, the positioning of the main restaurant and cafeteria was reversed with the restaurant being situated for'd and the cafeteria aft. The outward appearance was almost the same with a few minor differences such as windows etc, noticeable only by the keenest enthusiasts.
After various delays caused by the starboard engine and main shaft which had to be re-aligned, bad weather on her trip to Southampton the Viking III sailed on her inaugural voyage to Cherbourg on the 25th June.
VIKING III
Viking III
Built: 1965 by Orenstein-Koppel Und Lubecker Masch A/G, West Germany.
Tonnage: 3, 824g, 1, 823n, 1, 199dwt.
Engines Twin Screw, 2 x 4SA, 12 Cylinder Pielsticks, 10, 200 BHP, Service Speed 19 Knots, Variable Pitch Propellers.
Passengers: 940, cars 180.
Launched 10th March 1965, completed 23rd June 1965. Yard No. 618.
All those who use the ferries know that the summer season is much busier than that of the winter consequently operating companies use the lull in demand to refit their ships on a rota basis and in extreme cases actually have ships laid up. After the first summer of operation using three ships Viking III went back to her builders for her guarantee refit, Viking I and II commenced an experimental triangular service sailing from Southampton to Le Havre, then Le Havre to Cherbourg and finally Cherbourg back to Southampton, sadly in the end not the success that the Company was hoping to achieve.
The problem for Thoresens was that during the winter months the demand for a service to Cherbourg was virtually non-existent and so the Company decided to drop Cherbourg from its itinerary between the months of October and March.
During the winter of 1966-67 the Viking II continued on the much reduced winter service leaving Viking I and Viking III to seek alternative employment slotting between all three ships' refits. Viking III served on the Harwich- Bremerhaven route for Lion Ferry's and Viking I was chartered by Atlantic Steam Navigation for use on their Antwerp- Rotterdam and Preston, Belfast- Larne routes.
On the 9th November 1966 Thoresen announced that they were to build a freight only ship, Viking IV, this was in response to a rapidly growing freight market which had increased nearly three fold over the previous twelve months. The ship was awarded to the Norwegian yard Trosvik Verksted of Brevik and on the 21st January she was launched by Mrs. Dybwad. The design of the ship allowed for the carriage of lorries, containers, trailers or cars for export and her service speed was rather less than her predecessors being only 15 knots. One of the more radical of her design features was that she carried her own linkspan with ramp and elevator, consequently she didn't need to take up valuable linkspan time from Viking I, II and III. She arrived in Southampton after trials and made her maiden voyage on the 12th June to Le Havre.
VIKING IV
Viking IV
Built: 1965 by Trosvik Verksted A/S Brevik, Norway.
Tonnage: 1, 152g, 574n, 1, 575dwt.
Engines Twin Screw, 2 x 4SA, 8 Cylinder Atlas-Mak Masch, 2, 800 BHP, Service Speed 15 Knots.
Launched 12th January 1967, completed 10th June 1967. Yard No. 618.
Townsend who operated ships from Dover to Calais and Zeebruge was owned by George Nott Industries Ltd. of Coventry and in July of 1968 made an offer for the capital of Thoresen at a rate of 9 shares in Nott Industries for each 122, 500 shares of Thoresen. The offer was recommended by theThoresen Board, and on the 12th of September the offer was accepted, it was felt that combing the two Fleets would make them stronger and operationally more profitable. One problem which had to be resolved was the fact that the four Thoresen ships flew the Norwegian flag to enable them to continue doing so a new company was formed called Thoresen Car Ferries A/S and this Company then chartered the ships to Thoresen Car ferries Ltd. , a subsidiary of George Nott Industries. To all intent and purpose nothing changed outwardly each company kept its own identity and it wasn't until 1976 that Townsend changed its Fleet colour from pea green hulls to that of Thoresen's orange. In 1969 for the first time the two Companies produced a joint brochure under the heading The European Ferries Group and both Companies continued to profit from the amalgamation. Following the merger the French Company Worms et CIE resigned as agents and sadly the founder of Thoresen Car Ferries Otto Thoresen resigned from his position as general manager.
In the summer of 1970 due to rising passenger numbers the Dover ship Free Enterprise II transferred to Southampton fortunately she was surplus to requirements in Dover as Townsend had embarked on a new ship build programme.
It was in the December of 1970 that the group announced a five-year expansion programme in which five new ships were to be built, two Free Enterprise ships for Dover and three Super Vikings for Southampton. In fact Southampton were to get two which extended the service life of the smaller Vikings by some years and Felixstowe, another group Port, were to get the remaining one, later another Super Viking was built which meant that Felixstowe received two the same as Southampton. The contract for the Super Vikings went to the Danish ship yard of Aalborg Vaerft A/S and the design was based on the internal layout of the Free Enterprise class with large open plan areas for the passengers. The ships were not due for delivery until 1975 and with rising passenger/vehicle numbers their capacity to carry 1, 200 passengers and 275 cars would be a welcome addition to the Southampton Fleet.
For the next five years the Vikings continued on their normal services during the summer and also on their winter charters, Free Enterprise II continued to operate alongside the Vikings until her last season in 1974 for the following year Southampton was to receive the first Super Ferry Viking Venturer.
Go To The British Vikings, 1975-1983