This summer we will be welcoming a brand-new ship to our shores. The Côte d’Opale will sail between our Dover – Calais route and will offer fantastic facilities including Duty Free shopping, inclusive meals and plenty of space onboard to relax and enjoy the journey. While you may be familiar with some aspects of ferry travel, we thought we would bring you some lesser-known facts about our new ship!
1. The ship is named after the Opal Coast region in Northern France which boasts beautiful coasts such as Le Touquet and charming towns like Wimereux. Passengers travelling on the Côte d’Opale can enjoy meals inspired by the region including Magret de Canard and Tartiflette.
2. Captain David Poisson will take the helm of the Côte d’Opale ship. Previously the captain of Calais Seaways, Captain Poisson has worked for DFDS for many years and his surname in French, means ‘fish.’ Quite an appropriate name for a seafarer, don’t you think?
3. The Côte d’Opale will have the largest Duty Free retail space on the channel at a whopping 1100 square metres! That’s a lot of space for some serious retail therapy. And with savings of up to 50% against the high street, it’s worth treating yourself to your favourite perfume or tipple!
4. The building of the Côte d’Opale started back in May 2019. With a dedicated team of over 300 people working on the build in the Avic Weihai shipyard in China, the Cote d’Opale will be complete by June 2021. Just over two years to build a 41,000 tonne ship is pretty impressive!
5. At capacity, the Côte d’Opale could serve over 10,000 meals per day and over 12,000 cups of coffee! Whether it’s our popular Fish & Chips or a hearty cooked breakfast to start the day, there will be an abundance of fresh produce and delicious meals available onboard!
6. The Côte d’Opale will be one of several ships on the channel to have a ‘cow catcher.’ This is a feature on the bow of the ship which makes docking much speedier, which in turn makes your journey across the channel quicker too!
7. The Côte d’Opale will be the longest ship on the channel at 214 metres. That’s enough to accommodate over 3000 lane metres for cars and lorries. That’s a lot of drivers coming onboard to rest, refuel and refresh. Good job a meal and drinks are included with all tickets! Plus, with plenty of space for social distancing onboard, you will be able to travel in comfort on the Côte d’Opale.
8. This ship is more environmentally friendly than Calais Seaways which she is replacing. With two engines instead of four, the Côte d’Opale will see improvements in fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Plus, her active stabilisation will make it a very smooth crossing!
9. The Côte d’Opale is part of a family of E-Flexers including Brittany Ferries’ Galicia, Stena Embla and Stena Estrid. One of the things that sets the Côte d’Opale apart is her lack of passenger cabins. short journey across the channel, we’ve removed passenger cabins to increase the space onboard so passengers can spread out, relax and enjoy the great onboard facilities in a Covid-19 secure way.
10. Two children’s play areas will be available onboard, inspired by LEGO. There will be one for younger children and a ‘teenage zone’ for older kids. You can even have the opportunity to buy your own LEGO to enjoy at home in our onboard Sea Shop.
So there you have it – ten facts about the Côte d’Opale you didn’t know before! We’re so excited to set sail this summer and welcome you onboard our new ship.
