MS Athena Cruise Ship and Tugs in the Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

Stormy weather ahead: a gunmetal-grey early morning view of the MS Athena, survivor of a famous maritime disaster (see below), in the process of berthing at Cruise Terminal 3 (CT3) on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks:


(Click this MS Athena Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The bow of the MS Athena (alt. MV Athena) is pointing towards the Western Entrance with the Straits of Dover and English Channel beyond; the Cliffs of France can be seen on higher resolutions.

The Western Entrance is formed by the Southern Breakwater, out-of-shot to the left, and the Admiralty Pier behind the ship on the right.

This Dover Harbour photo was taken at 6.31 am on Tuesday, 7th of September, 2010, from the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier.

The two Dover Harbour Board bollard-pull tugs assisting the Athena, DHB Dauntless (on the left) and DHB Doughty (on the right), along with the DHB David Church dredger, berth in the Tug Haven of the Tidal Harbour.

The MS Athena, chartered by tour operator Page and Moy for the 2010 summer season, has just finished "A Taste of Europe", her last summer cruise this year, which began in Dover on Friday, the 3rd of September with the following itinerary: Dover - Amsterdam (Netherlands, Holland; Anne Frank house, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum) - Zeebrugge (Belgium; for Bruges or Ghent) - Honfleur (France; Saint Catherine Church, Monet's Garden at Giverny, or Paris) .

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MS Athena (1)

MV Princess Daphne

MS Athena, like the MS Princess Dapne, is a cruise ship owned and operated by Classic International Cruises (CI Cruises) of the World Cruises Agency. She was built in 1948 as the MS Stockholm by Götaverken in Gothenburg for the Swedish America Line (SAL). Since her career with SAL she has sailed under the names MS Völkerfreundschaft, MS Volker, MS Fridtjof Nansen, MS Italia I, MS Italia Prima, MS Valtur Prima and MS Caribe, before beginning service under her current name.

As Stockholm, the MS Athena was best known for colliding with the SS Andrea Doria in 1956, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship:

MV Princess Daphne Cruise Ship before the White Cliffs of Dover, Kent, UK

On the 10th of May, 2010, the Princess Daphne cruise ship entered Dover Harbour via the Eastern Entrance and is shown making its way across the Outer Harbour towards the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks to berth at CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1):


(Click this Princess Daphne Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

Eastern Docks at Night
Harbour House

The Eastern Arm pier, running the full length of the photo behind the ship, juts out from the out-of-shot Eastern Docks (the cross-channel ferry terminal) located below the White Cliffs of Dover. The top of the Old South Foreland lighthouse, built in 1793, can be seen near the cliff edge on the right-hand side of the photo.

The tugs DHB Dauntless (bow) and DHB Doughty (stern) belong to Dover Harbour Board of Harbour House.

The photo was taken just after midday from near the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier (eastern side).

The MS Princess Daphne arrived from Cadiz, Spain (5th May), and had previously called at: Barcelona, Spain (2nd May); Marseile/Marseilles, France (1st May); Nice, France (1st May - a day-trip); Marseile/Marseilles, France (1st May); Catania, Sicily (29th April); Beirut, Lebanon (22nd April).

Later in the day, the Princess Daphne left Dover and arrived at Kiel, Germany, at 7.16 am on the 12th of May.