MS Normandy was a ferry, last owned by the Singapore-based oil service company Equinox Offshore Accommodation, under charter to the Morocco-based ferry operator Ferrimaroc. She was built in 1981 by Götaverken, Gothenburg, Sweden, and first entered service in 1982 as MS Prinsessan Birgitta for Stena Sessan Line. She also served under the names MS St Nicholas and MS Stena Normandy. Concept and construction The ship latterly known as MS Normandy was originally ordered from Götaverken in the late 1970s by Sessan Linjen, Sweden, with a planned delivery date in late 1981. Before the ship was completed, Sessan Linjen's main rival Stena Line purchased the majority of shares in Sessan, leading to the formation of Stena Sessan Line. After Stena acquired Sessan they cancelled the order for the new ship, and the shipyard were forced to complete her on their own account. Temporarily named MS GV 909 and registered in Gothenburg, the ship was completed in December 1981 and subsequently laid up in Gothenburg. Service history 1982-1983: Stena Line In May 1982, Stena Sessan changed their mind and decided to purchase the GV 909 after all. The company wanted to name the ship Drottning Silvia in honour of Queen Silvia of Sweden, but the Royal Household of Sweden declined. Eventually the ship was named M/S Prinsessan Birgitta in honour Princess Birgitta, sister of King Carl XVI Gustav. Princess Brigitta herself christened the ship on 7 June 1982 (the ship had already entered traffic on 3 June). Prinsessan Birgittas service with Stena Sessan proved to be short, as she was chartered to Sealink in February 1983. 1983-1996: Sealink Prior to entering service with Sealink, Prinsessan Birgitta was rebuilt at Götaverken with additional cabin facilities, renamed MS St Nicholas and registered under the flag of the United Kingdom, with London as her home port. In June 1983, she was set on Sealink's Hook of Holland—Harwich route. During the same month she was sold by Stena to Hill Samuel Trading Ltd, who continued chartering her to Sealink. In 1986 the ship was sold again, this time to a group of Stena subsidiaries. During the following two years she was sold three more times from one Stena subsidiary to another. None of these sales had any effect on her traffic, but in 1988 her home port was changed to Nassau, Bahamas. In 1989, St Nicholas was sold again, this time to the Sweden-based Rederi AB