Méditerranée is a ferry belonging to the French company Corsica Linea. Built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique for SNCM between 1987 and 1989, the ship was then named Danielle Casanova, after a Corsican communist activist and resistance fighter who died in deportation to Auschwitz in May 1943. It entered service in May 1989 operating on the routes ensuring territorial continuity between the mainland and Corsica, it was then the largest car ferry in the Mediterranean and the fastest in the world in its class. Replaced in 2002 by the new Danielle Casanova, it was renamed Méditerranée and assigned to routes between France, Tunisia, and Algeria. Transferred to Corsica Linea in 2016 following the liquidation of SNCM, it became a seasonal vessel, sailing only between June and September and laid up at the Marseille port breakwater for the rest of the year.
History
Origins Towards the end of the 1980s, SNCM began considering a replacement for the car ferry Provence. In its 1978 business plan, the company had already anticipated its retirement by 1985, especially since its operations had proven unprofitable at the end of the 1981 season. To succeed it, the SNCM teams then undertook the design of the "160-meter project," a large car ferry that would meet the summer demand on the Corsican routes, which were experiencing steady growth at that time. By the summer of 1982, the main specifications of this future ferry were finalized: a vessel over 160m long, with a gross tonnage of over 30,000, capable of cruising at over 24 knots and carrying just under 2,500 passengers and 800 vechiles on three car decks. This high capacity is made possible by the large hull volume, which would also allow for the creation of more comfortable accommodations.With the ship design finalized, SNCM now had to await approval from government authorities before placing its order. For this to be feasible, the average annual traffic growth had to be 4.5% between 1981 and 1985. Contrary to expectations, and despite initially favorable results, demand growth during the summer season slowed and even declined significantly from 1983 onwards due to a tense political situation in Corsica. As the situation did not allow for determining the need for an additional vessel in the short term, the commissioning of the "160 meter" ship by 1985 was jeopardized. The company nevertheless attempted twice to have the project approved on October 5, 1983 and May 23, 1984, but here too, the traffic trend will prove too weak to justify replacing the Provence with a new unit. During negotiations for the five-year renewal of the agreement between SNCM and the French State for service to Corsica, the authorities authorized the order of the "160 meter" vessel, provided that the amount of the subsidy was determined following negotiations between SNCM and the Corsican Regional Transport Authority (OTRC). Once the amount was approved, the OTRC endorsed the project, but pending the signing of the agreement, the commissioning of the new vessel, initially planned for 1988, was postponed by one year April 15, 1987, the order is officially placed with the Chantiers de l'Atlantique.
While the ship's technical specifications had been established as early as 1982, the interior layout underwent significant modifications. Initially, the facilities were closer to those of the Estérel and the Corse, notably featuring a 450-seat bar and lounge, a 500- seat veranda and brasserie, and a 250- seat cinema. However, a 1985 customer survey revealed that passenger expectations had evolved. The "sea train" concept, which had guided the design of the fleet's car ferries since 1976, now appeared outdated; passengers demanded greater comfort and higher-quality services. Also, due to the relatively short crossings, these communal areas needed to be functional and capable of accommodating both small numbers of passengers in winter and large crowds in summer. Thus, the design of the common areas has been completely revised and now includes a large self-service restaurant, a small restaurant, a large main lounge bar, a smaller luxury bar, large circulation areas, a cinema, and a shopping arcade. In total, an entire deck is dedicated to common areas. Regarding the facilities, the allocation will focus more on sleeper berths. Overnight capacity will be divided between 800 in cabins equipped with bathrooms and 1,050 second - class berths, supplemented by 600 Pullman seats.
The naming of the ship sparked a political debate. While the Corsican Assembly had proposed for the second time the name of the Corsican communist activist and resistance fighter Danielle Casanova, the Secretary of State for the Sea, Ambroise Guellec, announced on April 27, 1987 about ten days after the ship was ordered, it was decided that it would be christened Île de Beauté (Island of Beauty). Faced with the French government's refusal to grant the request from the Corsican authorities, a committee called "A Car Ferry Named Danielle Casanova" was formed at the initiative of former Member of Parliament Paul Cermolacce and gathered numerous signatures. It also brought the issue to the attention of President François Mitterrand, who was then in the midst of his 1988 presidential campaign. He responded favorably through his campaign manager, Pierre Bérégovoy. Thus, after François Mitterrand's re-election, the ship was officially named Danielle Casanova.
Construction The ship was laid down in Saint-Nazaire on December 29, 1987 and launched in dry dock B on December 3, 1988. On March 25, 1989 it wastransferred to the Joubert dry dock for a final refit, after which it carries out its sea trials off Saint-Nazaire from the 4th to April 8. On this occasion, it broke the world speed record for a conventional ferry, reaching 26 knots. The Danielle Casanova was delivered to SNCM on May 9 and succeeded the Napoléon as flagship. This ship also brought a host of new features. Externally, it was characterized by a turquoise blue stripe along the portholes on deck 6, foreshadowing the new "SNCM Ferryterranée" livery that would be applied to the rest of the fleet the following year. It also introduced a new boarding system using a card for each passenger, containing all the information concerning the journey and, in particular, for cabin occupants, a confidential code to access their reserved area. Each cabin was now equipped with electronic locks that unlocked using a keypad. This system would later be installed on the rest of the fleet. Its arrival also marked the end of the separation of facilities between first and second class in favor of a single class, with cabins now categorized according to the level of service. Finally, it is the first SNCM ship to be registered in a Corsican port, in this case, Ajaccio,and not Marseille.
Service
SNCM (1989-2016) On May 10, 1989 the Danielle Casanova departs Saint-Nazaire at 8:05 AM for Marseille. After a voyage at an average speed of 24 knots, the ship arrives for the first time in the Phocaean city on May 13 and docked at 10:17 a.m. at berth 82. In the following days, it was officially presented to the authorities and the public, respectively on the 15th and May 16. On May 17 under the command of Captain Pellicot, the Danielle Casanova set sail at 8:30 p.m. for its maiden voyage to Ajaccio, carrying 620 guests. The following day, the ship arrived for the first time in its home port, where the christening ceremony began at 10:00 a.m., attended by, among others, the Minister of the Sea, Jacques Mellick, Claude Abraham, Chairman of SNCM, and the Chairman of Chantiers de l'Atlantique. The ship's godmother was Homère Philippi, Danielle Casanova 's older sister. Following the ceremony, the ship set sail at noon, with 1,500 people on board, for a sea trip between Ajaccio and Bastia, arriving at 7am cruising along the Calanques of Piana. The Danielle Casanova then began her commercial career in the service of territorial continuity between Corsica and the mainland, mainly from Marseille or Toulon to Ajaccio and Bastia.
From November 27 to December 1, 1989 during its first technical stop, the propeller blades were replaced to reduce a vibration problem felt on the aft deck 7. The "SNCM Ferryterranée" trademark was also painted on the ship's hull, which was originally blank. A few weeks later, between the 26th and December 28, the Danielle Casanova transported the 1,300 people of the 1990 Dakar Rally caravan to Tripoli and shared with the Estérel the transport of vehicles and helicopters.
On March 16, 1991 from midnight, the ship was chartered by the French government to repatriate French military personnel from Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Daguet. Thus, after completing the crossing between Marseille and Ajaccio, the Danielle Casanova left Corsica at 7:18 am bound for Yanbu. After covering 1,821 miles at an average speed of 24 knots, the car ferry reached Saudi Arabia on March 20 at 3 PM. A force of 1,270 military personnel and 176 vechiles boarded in the evening, and the ship left Yanbu the following day at 10:10 AM. After making the return journey, the Danielle Casanova arrived in Toulon on March 27 at 6:45 a.m. under full flags, greeted by a fireboat. The ship will subsequently make a second voyage in the same setting between the 2nd and April 14.
Starting with the summer of 1993, SNCM recruited female hotel staff for the first time on board its ships. It was in this context that, at the end of June, twelve young women embarked on the Danielle Casanova, all recruited as registered seafarers on the same basis as the men. Due to the requirement to provide them with separate cabins and bathrooms, they were housed at the front of deck 9 under the navigation bridge. At the end of the season, the experiment proved a success; the female teams had quickly integrated well into both the crew and the passengers, so much so that the initiative was repeated the following season on the Île de Beauté, then the Monte d'Oro and the Paglia Orba, and finally on the rest of the fleet, with the notable exception of the Liberté.
On July 8, 2000, while the ship was crossing from Bastia to Marseille, the officer on watch received a distress call from a sailboat in trouble. Being nearby, the Danielle Casanova diverted to assist the sailboat's six passengers. Due to poor weather conditions, the crew was unable to bring the six people aboard using a ladder. The sailboat's occupants were therefore winched aboard by a helicopter from the Hyères Naval Air Base and then transferred to the car ferry. A few months later, on November 27 also between Bastia and Marseille in rough seas and westerly winds, the crew spotted a small white distress light at around 2:20 a.m. Five minutes later, the ship was diverted by CrossMed, which informed them that a search operation was underway to find a drifting inflatable boat with two occupants on board. The boat was found about twenty minutes later, and the two occupants were transferred aboard the Danielle Casanova.