Jordanian shipping company Arab Bridge Maritime took delivery of the Ro-Pax ferry Cotentin from Brittany Ferries in Cherbourg, France, on Monday, October 19.
The vessel was renamed Nefertiti at handover and transferred from the French flag to the Jordanian flag, with Aqaba as her port of registry.
With 2,188 lane metres, she is now the largest Ro-Pax vessel by freight capacity in the Arab Bridge Maritime fleet.
Nefertiti is the company's third Ro-Pax ferry acquired from Europe in quick succession. She followed the 2003-built Ciudad de Ibiza, bought from Trasmediterranea and now operating as Al Jisr, and the Attica Group's 1987-built Lefka Ori, delivered in Limassol on September 20 and renamed Daleela Express.
The expansion coincides with Arab Bridge Maritime's preparations to operate passenger, truck and cargo services on the Safaga–Duba corridor between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Brittany Ferries announced the planned sale of Cotentin and Barfleur as part of a restructuring of its Channel services in June. Cotentin had already been announced for sale, and Barfleur moved to the Rosslare–Cherbourg route from October 12 to cover its impending withdrawal.
Nefertiti was built by Aker Yards in Finland in 2007. The 165-metre vessel has a gross tonnage of 22,308, a service speed of 23 knots, and capacity for 160 passengers in 120 twin-berth cabins.
The ferry initially served Brittany Ferries' Cherbourg–Poole and Poole–Santander routes. She was later chartered to Stena Line as Stena Baltica for service between Gdynia and Karlskrona.
She returned to Brittany Ferries in 2021 for freight sailings between Poole and Cherbourg, and most recently operated between Cherbourg and Rosslare.