replaced by the two jumbo 'Super Vikings', Pride of Cherbourg2 and . On the Le Havre route the jumbo 'Super Vikings' Pride of Hampshire and Pride of Le Havre1 initially serviced the route supported at various times by chartered in freight vessels or transferred 'European' class vessels. However, their low capacity meant that by 1991 larger vessels were required; this was eventually solved by the introduction of two German-built vessels, Pride of Le Havre2 and Pride of Portsmouth in 1994. In 1993 P&O opened a new route from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain, using the Pride of Bilbao operating a twice weekly service. This was the longest route that P&O Ferries operated and was often late arriving due to the weather conditions in the Bay of Biscay. 1998 saw the introduction of a new high-speed service on the Portsmouth–Cherbourg route using the Superstar Express, being replaced by the larger Incat-built 91m long Portsmouth Express in 2000. The change to the larger vessel did not go smoothly, and the new ship suffered a number of technical problems, forcing P&O Portsmouth to recall Superstar Express for a short time from its new home on the Cairnryan–Larne route until the problems were solved. Portsmouth Express gained a reputation of being unreliable, and services were frequently cancelled due to technical problems and the weather, but her larger size and long-term charter agreement meant she remained on the service for a number of years. For her 2003 season she was painted in standard P&O Ferries livery and her trading name was shortened to "Express", with her official name becoming Catalonia A. In her final season in 2004, the vessel was officially renamed Express but adopted the trading name Cherbourg Express. In summer 2004 P&O Ferries operated a Portsmouth–Caen route using the Incat 91 model catamaran Max Mols from Mols-Linien, trading under the name Caen Express. However, this was short lived, with P&O Ferries announcing on 28 September 2004 its planned closure of the Portsmouth–Cherbourg and Caen routes and the transfer of the Portsmouth–Le Havre route to Brittany Ferries due to falling passenger numbers and rising costs. Caen Express was returned to Mols-Linien in October 2004, and the Portsmouth–Cherbourg route closed on 14 January 2005. Following the intervention of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission, Brittany Ferries backed out of the deal to take over the Le Havre route, so Portsmouth–Le Havre remained under