Ferry returns to service

Pont-Aven, Brittany Ferries? $180 million flagship, returned to service today, nearly a fortnight after a fault left it stranded in a UK port. The problem arose from a cracked cooling valve resulting in 1,200 tonnes of seawater flooding the engine room.

Following repairs in Brest, France, the ship today set sail for Santander, Spain, where it will pick up passengers for a scheduled service to Plymouth although the crossings will take longer than usual because the ferry is not running at full speed.

A Brittany Ferries spokesman said: “She is not travelling at her full cruising speed because we do not want to push it too hard. It is getting back to normal, but it depends on how the generators perform in the course of the next couple of days? operations.”

The 41,000 gt vessel, the largest ferry in the company?s fleet, entered service earlier this year in March.