Dover Eastern Docks in 1987. The 'European Clearway' is on the left and the 'European Trader' on the right
History
Name	1976 – 1996: European Clearway 1996 – 1998: Panther 1998 – 2002: European Pathfinder 2002 – 2002: Regina I 2002 – 2005: Begonia 2005–present: Via Mare
Owner	1976 – 1987: Townsend Thoresen 1987 – 2002: P&O 2002 – 2002: Erato Shipping 2002 – 2005: Transeuropa Ferries 2005–present: Baltic Scandinavian Lines
Operator	1976 – 1987 Townsend Thoresen 1987 – 1993: P&O European Ferries 1993 – 1998: Pandoro Ltd 1998 – 2002: P&O Irish Sea 2002 – 2002: Erato Shipping 2002 – 2005: Transeuropa Ferries 2005–present: Baltic Scandinavian Lines
Port of registry	1976 – 2002: Dover,  UK 2002 – 2005: Kingstown,  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2005 – unknown: Tallinn,  Estonia unknown – present: Tasucu  Turkey
Route	1976 – 1992: Dover-Zeebrugge 1992 – 1993: Portsmouth-Le Havre 1993 – 2001: Rosslare-Cherbourg 2001 – 2002: Larne-Cairnryan 2002 – 2005: Ramsgate-Ostend 2005 – unknown: Kapellskär-Paldiski unknown – Present: Tasucu-Kyrenia
Builder	Schichau Unterweser AG, Germany
Yard number	2263
Laid down	25 April 1975
Launched	10 October 1975
Completed	16 January 1976
In service	1976
Identification	IMO number: 7411258
General characteristics
Tonnage	8,023 GT
Length	117.85 m (386.6 ft)
Beam	20.27 m (66.5 ft)
Draught	5.82 m (19.1 ft)
Propulsion	Two Stork Werkspoor 9TM410
Speed	18.4 kn (34.1 km/h)

The Via Mare is a ro-pax ship which is owned and operated by Baltic Scandinavian Lines.

History

The Via Mare was launched for Townsend Thoresen as the European Clearway in 1976 for use on their Dover – Zeebrugge route.^[1] Townsend Thoresen was absorbed by P&O European Ferries in 1987, retaining the European Clearway before transferring it to Pandoro, another section of P&O. In 1992 European Clearway was transferred to the Portsmouth – Le Havre route^[2] In 1993 she was transferred to the Rosslare – Cherbourg route. In 1996 Pandoro renamed the ship Panther, in keeping with the animal names of the other ships in their fleet. Two years later the name was changed again, this time to European Pathfinder when Pandoro Ltd. merged with P&O European (Felixstowe) Ltd. to form P&O European Ferries (Irish Sea).

The vessel suffered a serious fire on 26 November 1997 when 35 miles out from Rosslare on passage to Cherbourg, but was repaired at Birkenhead and returned to service.^[3]

She was transferred to the Larne-Cairnryan route in April 2001 to replace the European Trader which had been sold. Unfortunately her port main engine failed in June 2002 and was not repaired, resulting in the final month of operation being at 10 kt on one engine. She was laid up in Liverpool in July 2002 and spent several months awaiting a buyer. In October 2002 the vessel was briefly owned by Erato Shipping of Greece and renamed Regina I but was very quickly sold to Transeuropa Ferries for use on their Ramsgate Ostend service, being renamed Begonia. Her first voyage from Ostend to Ramsgate was on 11 February 2004, following a refit which took over a year. On 8 July 2005 she was sold to Baltic Scandinavian Lines for use on their Kapellskär – Paldiski route.^[4][5]

Sister ships

• M/F Gardenia – originally European Enterprise
• Lina Trader – originally European Trader
• Penelope – originally European Gateway (laid down as European Express)

References