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deliver goods beyond the shores of our island, The Commercial Motor last month published a guide to vehicle ferries. Of the surprising overall total of 73 services operating from this country, no less than 20 ferries are to north-west Europe. Of these, 12 are of the roll-on/ roll-off variety.
A close study of the ferry guide reveals that one operator —Thoresen Car Ferries Ltd., of Southampton—offers a unique service to hauliers in more ways than one, On the all-important question of frequency the three Norwegian Viking ferries operating the service currently maintain eight sailings per day in each direction between Southampton and I e Havre and Cherbourg.
Phenomenal notice
Even more important than this, the minimum notice required for a vehicle to be carried can only be described as phenomenal. The company specifies 90-minutes' notice. although when I visited Southampton recently, one vehicle (which had been presented without notice only half an hour before the ship sailed) was allowed to embark as a special concession. Even Thorescn Ferries thought that this was cutting it a bit fine!
What else takes Thoresen Ferries out of the now conventional roll-on!roll-off category into one on its own? B34
The fact is that they are not, strictly speaking, roll-on/ roll-off operators.---a technique Which they feel to be slow and cumbersome so far as turn-round is concerned. In true Scandinavian style the vessels have both bow and stern vehicle loading doors, enabling vehicles to be driven on board in the normal manner (instead of having to be reversed on as is the usual practice with conventional stern-door roll-onfroll-off ferries.) and, passing through the entire length of the ship, to be driven-off, again in the normal mantier, at the destination, and vice versa.
Simple loading
As loading and off-loading is such a simple matter. turnround time is reduced to a minimal one hour (shorter than it sometimes takes to off-load a goods vehicle) and. I1 true Norwegian sea-going tradition, the ferries spend more time at sea than in harbour. And as the haulage maxim that a vehicle is earning money only when its wheels are turning applies equally to ships. Thoresen Ferries arc able to offer rates which, in comparison with other operators. are more than competitive.
But there is More to it than this that makes Thoresen Ferries a unique service. _ Before this company began operations the majority of. the ever-increasing number of Continental hauliers thought only in terms of Tilburs.', Dover and perhaps -Newhaven so far as cross-Channel