Pride of Canterbury ferry accidents and incidents

11 November 2019Other Incidents

On November 11, 2019, the ship (en-route from Calais to Dover) made a U-turn and rescued a migrant trying to swim to the UK. The man was spotted approx 20 km (12 mi) north of Calais France. The rescue operation started at 10:40 am, when the ferry turned around and lowered a rescue boat  to retrieve the man (wearing a wetsuit) who suffered from severe hypothermia. At 12:23, he was airlifted (hoisted up from the ship's helipad) by a Maritime Gendarmerie (French coastguard) helicopter and flown back to Calais.

29 September 2014Fire Accident

On September 29, 2014, upon arrival in Port Calais (France), the ship suffered an engine room fire accident. The fire was quickly extinguished by the onboard fire protection/sprinkler system. All the passengers were disembarked. No injuries were reported.

The vessel was then taken to Arno Shipyard (Dunkerque, France) for repairs.

31 January 2008Ship Grounding

On January 31, 2008, during maneuvering (sheltering from rough weather off Deal, Kent's coast), the ferry ran aground over the SS Mahratta shipwreck (steamship launched 1917). As a result, the ferry's portside propeller was lost. Additionally, its drive shaft and gearbox were damaged.

The cause for the grounding was that the Navigation Bridge team was distracted by an onboard fire alarm and several phone calls of non-navigational nature. The ship managed to reach Dover on its own power, but there required berthing assistance of 2 tugboats. After emergency repairs in Falmouth England, the vessel resumed its schedule, operating with only one propeller.

During the accident, the ship was on a scheduled crossing from Calais France to Dover England. Due to severe weather, Port Dover was temporarily closed, so the ferry proceeded to The Downs (between Goodwin Sands and East Kent coast) to wait for the port's reopening.