title: MV Al Arabia
text: # MV Al Arabia
  
  The MV Al Arabia was a roro-ferry which has seen service on several routes. The ship was built for the Belgium state-owner operator Regie voor Maritiem Transport België as the Prinses Maria Esmeralda. She sailed on the Ostend-Dover route.
  
  Under the name Wisteria she also sailed on the route Ostend-Ramsgate and on the Almeria to Nador line. This 1975 built ship is a sistership of the MV Eurovoyager and MV Larkspur.
  
  ## History
  
  In 1975 the Belliard Shipyard built the ship under dock-number 877. The ship was ordered by the state-owned operator Regie voor Maritiem Transport België. She was christened Prinses Maria Esmeralda. She sailed on the Dover-Ostend route.
  
  In 1995 the ship was sold to Transeuropa Ferries and renamed MV Wisteria to sail on the Ostend-Ramsgate route.
  
  During some summers the ship was chartered to ferry-operators between Spain and Morocco and Tunisia. Since 2000 she moved permanently to run on the Almeria to Nador route until she was sold for scrapping in 2007 to India
  
  ## Sisterships
  
  The Prinses Maria Esmeralda was one of three sisterships ordered by RMT. The Prins Albert and the Princesse Marie Christine.
  
  ## References and footnotes
  
  * ↑ Data also based on details sistership Primrose op Website Transeuropa Ferries, retrieved 7 August 2010
  * 1 2 The Ferry Site on MV Al Arabia, visited 8 August 2010
  * ↑ The Ferry site on MV Primrose, Visited 21 August 2010
  