Ferries of Bastia
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the port of Bastia, on the north-east tip of Corsica, and its ferries. Brief details of companies operating to Bastia are shown, illustrated with postcards and photographs taken at Bastia. Links are shown to more detailed pages where these exist.
Links to Companies on this Page:-
CGT
CGTM
CMN
Corsica Ferries
Fraissinet
Happy Lines
Moby Lines
SNCM
Links to Associated Simplon Pages:-
CMN - "La Meridionale"
Corsica Ferries
French Line Page 1B
- CGT Mediterranean Services 1945-60
French Line Page 2
- CGT/CGTM Mediterranean Car Ferries from 1960
Happy Lines
Moby Lines
SNCM - "Ferryterranee"
Ferry Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
Links to Ferry Company Pages:-
CMN Official Website
Corsica Ferries Official Website
Moby Lines Official Website
Search This Website:-
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French Ferry Services
Fraissinet
For many years the primary operator between France and Corsica was Cie. Fraissinet. In 1910 they operated services from Marseille, and Nice to Ajaccio, Bastia and Propriano, with some sailings continuing to Italian ports. In 1948, the French Government mail contract for services to Corsica passed to the French Line (CGT), along with a number of Fraissinet ships.
An unidentified card of a Fraissinet steamer at Bastia. She is one of five sisterships,
Gallia
,
Corsica, Iberia, Italia
and
Numidia
. They were all built for Cie.Francaise de Navigation in 1904/5, but were acquired by Fraissinet in 1907. Examination of the ship's name would idicate that it is the
Gallia,
although books indicate that
Gallia
was sold to India before entering service with Fraissinet (in Francaise ownership the hull colour was grey). Any views on this problem would be welcomed.
A close-up of the interesting steam launch in front of
Gallia
in the card above.
CGT (Cie.Generale Transatlantique)
From 1st May 1948, the French Government mail contract for services to Corsica passed to the French Line (CGT), along with the Fraissinet ships
Cyrnos, Ville d'Ajaccio
and
Sampiero Corsa.
Follow this link
for full details of the post-war CGT Mediterranean fleet.
Editions Rene (Nice) card of
Cyrnos
in CGT colours at Bastia.
Editions M.C Miramont (Bastia) card of
Sampiero Corso
in CGT colours
,
posted from Bastia in 1958.
A major building programme of replacement car-ferries began in 1966, of which the first of three new arrivals was the
Fred Scamaroni.
These relaced the ex-Fraissinet ships
Cyrnos, Ville d'Ajaccio
and
Sampiero Corsa.
Follow this link
for full details of the post-war CGT car-ferry fleet.
This is an Editions "La Cigogne" card (s/n 20.033.141) of
Fred Scamaroni
in CGT colours at Bastia.
Editions "A.Rion" card (s/n 94/174 A.21/125) of
Fred Scamaroni
in CGT colours at Bastia.
CGTM (Cie.Generale Tranmediterranee)
In 1969, the Mediterranean services of CGT were split off to form CGTM. In 1971 CGTM acquired the
Rousillon
which had been built in 1966 as the Prins Hamlet for Harwich-Hamburg service.
Follow this link
for full details of the CGTM car-ferry fleet.
This is Editions "A.Rion" card (s/n 94/383) of
Rousillon
in CGTM colours at Bastia.
SNCM
In 1976, state-owned SNCM was created from state-subsidised CGTM, with the transfer of all CGTM ships. Another major building programme commenced, replacing the whole fleet with large "cruise-ferries".
Follow this link
for a page dedicated to SNCM postcards.
Captions have still to be added
CMN (La Meridionale)
CMN, marketed as La Meridionale, operate three large ro-pax ferries between Marseilles and Bastia (plus other Corsican ports), on a timetable integrated with that of SNCM.
Follow this link
for a page dedicated to CMN postcards. The oldest of the three CMN ferries is
Santa Regina
, which now operates routes to Calvi, Propriano and Port Torres (Sardinia). However,
Santa Regina
previously operated to Bastia, as shown on the Compa Carterie postcard below (serial 206052).
Kalliste
now operates an overnight passenger/freight service between Marseille and Bastia (Corsica). She is the largest CMN ferry, at 165 metres long, and has a capacity of 2340 lane metres, plus berths for 196 passengers. The third CMN ferry,
Scandola
, operates to Ajaccio.
This is an CMN official postcard of
Kalliste.
An oversized Editions Subervie postcard of
Kalliste
at Bastia (serial C5065).
An enlarged image of the ship is shown beneath.
The two photos below of
Kalliste
were taken by Ian Boyle at Bastia in August 2001.
Additional photographs of
Kalliste
are show
on this link
.
Italian Ferry Services
Corsica Ferries
Corsica Ferries initiated services to Bastia from Piombino and Livorno in 1968, using secondhand tonnage from Northern Europe. Routes were subsequently established from Bastia to Savona. Services to France were also introduced, in competition with state-subsidised SNCM, initially to Nice, using new fast ferries in the
Corsica Express
series. From 2001, services also operated to Toulon, using the first purpose-built conventional ferries
Mega Express
and
Mega Express II
. These ferries operate at traditional speeds overnight to and from Bastia, with a high speed return run at 29 knots during the day from Bastia to Savona.
Follow this link
for a page dedicated to Corsica Ferries postcards.
The second Corsica Ferries purchase was
Corsica Nova,
which had served as Scandinavian ferry
Travemuende
(1964-70) and
Europafaerjan II
(1970-76) before purchase. This card shows
Corsica Nova
at Bastia, on card s/n 355 by Editions "Mattesi".
Corsica Nova
at Bastia, on card s/n 60/607 by Editions "Du Mouflon".
Corsica Viva II
arriving Bastia in 1986. Photograph by Mike Tedstone.
This is "Corsica Shuttle" between Bastia and Livorno, was operated by ferries
Corsica Marina Seconda
and
Corsica Serena Seconda
in 2001. This is Corsica Ferries' official card serial 188bis, issued 2001. It is an aerial view of Bastia, with
Corsica Marina Seconda
leaving the ferry port, unseen to the left of the picture.
This photo of
Corsica Marina Seconda
was taken by Ian Boyle at Bastia in August 2001.
Further photos of
Corsica Marina Seconda
are shown
on this link
.
Corsica Serena II
leaving Bastia in 1986. Photograph by Mike Tedstone.
This photo of
Corsica Serena Seconda
was taken by Ian Boyle at Bastia in August 2001.
Further photos of
Corsica Serena Seconda
are shown
on this link
.
This photo of
Mega Express
was taken by Ian Boyle at Bastia in August 2001.
Further photos of
Mega Express
are shown
on this link
.
Happy Lines
Happy Lines run a single-ship service between Bastia and La Spezia using the
Happy Dolphin.
She had served as the B&I Line ferry
Innisfallen
(1969-80) before purchase by Corsica Ferries. becoming their
Corsica Viva,
later
Sardinia Viva
. Two pictures of
Happy Dolphin
arriving at Bastia in August 2001, photographed by Ian Boyle, are shown below. Further photos of
Happy Dolphin
are shown
on this link
.
Moby Lines
Moby Lines initiated services to Bastia from Piombino in 1966. Their first large ferry was the
Moby Blu
, built as Townsend's
Free Enterprise II
, which was not bought until 1982. various other secondhand ships from Northern Europe then served until 2001, when the purpose-built
Moby Wonder
arrived. The majority of services switched their mainland terminal from Piombino to Livorno or Genova, although 2001 was the first year that Piombino was dropped altogether.
Follow this link
for a page dedicated to Moby Lines postcards.
Simplon Postcards sp1012 of
Moby Blu
, photographed at Bastia in 1986 by Mike Tedstone.
Follow this link
to check the availability of this card from Simplon Postcards.
Editions "Yvon" postcard serial 10 20 0180 (87) of
Moby Prince
at Bastia.
Editions "La Corse" postcard serial 1003 of
Moby Prince
(plus
Moby Blu
) at Bastia.
Editions "Yvon" postcard serial 10 20 0317 of
Moby Love
.
Moby Vincent
photographed by Ian Boyle at Bastia in August 2001.
Further photos of
Moby Vincent
are shown
on this link
.
Moby Wonder
photographed by Ian Boyle at Bastia in August 2001.
Further photos of
Moby Wonder
are shown
on this link
.
Corsica Ferries
-
Moby Lines
-
SNCM
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-
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