Bass Trader was built by the
State Dockyard,
Newcastle for the
Australian National Line being
launched on 8 November 1975. It operated from
Sydney to
Hobart and
Bell Bay until December 1996. It was sold to Strinzis Line, Greece and was rebuilt in
Perama into a ferry with accommodation for 204 passengers in 69 cabins, 536 deck passengers and space for 51 cars. Renamed
Ionian Bridge, it operated between Greece and Italy. In 1999 it was sold to
Blue Ferries and renamed
Blue Bridge. In 2004 it was sold to Iscomar and renamed
Mercedes De Mar operating between
Barcelona and
Palma de Mallorca. In 2010 it was sold to
European Seaways and renamed
Bridge operating between Italy and Greece until being laid up in 2016. In October 2017 it was sold to Costavia Shipping and renamed
Duba Bridge operating across the Red Sea between
Duba, Saudi Arabia and
Safaga in Egypt. In June 2018 it was chartered by
Baleària and operated between
Málaga and
Melilla. It was laid up in Greece in 2020. It was sold to Shree Ram Shipping Industries for scrapping arriving in
Alang, India in May 2021. ==References==