Farwell to the Racehorses - Dawn and Brave Merchant

Farewell To The Racehorses Photographs © John H. Luxton 2006
On Tuesday January 10, 2025 BRAVE MERCHANT departed the Mersey bound for a new career with ISCOMAR as the BLANCA DEL MAR operating between Palma and Barcelona. Her sister, DAWN MERCHANT, had slipped away from the Mersey on November 12 as the EUROPAX APPIA. However, her original Mediterranean charter fell through. A new charter was soon found and she too will be operating on a competing Palma to Barcelona service operated by Baleria under the name PAU CASALS. It is somehow rather fitting that both ships have returned to the land of their birth for their new careers. Constructed by Astilleros Españoles of Seville, Spain for the then Merchant Ferries parent company Cenargo DAWN MERCHANT was completed in mid 1998 with her sister BRAVE MERCHANT following a few months later. As a tribute to the departure from the Mersey of these two fine vessels which were so much part of the local shipping scene, Irish Sea Shipping presents some archive photographs of these taken shortly after their arrival on Merseyside, when the ships were Manx registered. The names of the ships were taken from the race horses "Dawn Run" and "Dancing Brave". The race horse theme was continued on board with the "Winning Post Restaurant", "Jockey Club Bar", "Enclosure Truckers Restaurant" etc.
Click Here to link to a biography of Dawn Run		Click Here to link to a biography of Dancing Brave

	DAWN MERCHANT was the first of the two "racehorses" to arrive on Merseyside. The photographs above and left were taken shortly after her arrival on January 09, 1999. DAWN MERCHANT had been completed ahead of her sister BRAVE MERCHANT. During 1998 she had been chartered to UND Ro/Ro Isletmeri of Turkey operating between Istanbul and Trieste. during the autumn of that year.
			DAWN & BRAVE MERCHANT at Canada #3 Branch Dock on February 13, 1999.
BRAVE MERCHANT arrived on Merseyside on Sunday evening 31 January, 1999. During a period of high winds on Friday February 05 she was blown off her berth and across Canning #3 Branch Dock. Apparently her stern ramp was deployed on the quayside at the time. This appears to have caught an Armco barrier beside the ramp, which was ripped, out of the quay. The Liverpool Echo had the story as headline news on Friday and a photograph showed Howard Smith tugs CANADA and COLLINGWOOD pulling the vessel back onto her berth. The above photographs were taken a few days later and show the two sisters together repair work on BRAVE MERCHANT's stern ramp was underway. In 2002 DAWN MERCHANT departed the Mersey and was away for three years and one month on charter to Norfolk Line, only returning home on October 15, 2005. BRAVE MERCHANT also spent some time away from the Mersey. In March 2003 she sailed away to war under charter to the Ministry of Defence during to assist in the deployment of forces during the Second Gulf War. She returned to service on the Mersey in autumn 2003. However, it was not until March 2004 a basic passenger service on the Dublin route was restored. During the absence of DAWN MERCHANT and BRAVE MERCHANT cover had been provided by the chartered freight ro/ro vessels NORSE MERSEY and LINDAROSA. On a personal note, your web master made a number of trips on these fine ships between Liverpool and Dublin usually DAWN MERCHANT - they were always my preferred means of crossing the Irish Sea. My final voyages being on BRAVE MERCHANT being in October 2005. [VOYAGE REPORT] A number of Race Horse Voyage Reports can be found on the ISS Archives sub-site [click here].