Pride of Canterbury was the second of four 'European-class' freight ferries ordered for
P&O European Ferries'
Dover-
Zeebrugge route. Between 1992 and 2002 she sailed between Dover and Zeebrugge for P&O European Ferries and later
P&O Stena Line. She was converted in late 2002/early 2003 and re-entered service as
Pride of Canterbury (replacing the ageing
P&OSL Canterbury), sailing from Dover to
Calais. On 31 January 2008 she struck the wreck of while manoeuvring into
The Downs off the
Kent coast during heavy weather. The collision caused the loss of one of her
propellers and damaged the prop shaft and
gearbox. Although she was able to sail to Dover unaided, the ferry required assistance berthing. On 29 September 2014 a fire broke out in the engine room at around 8am as it arrived into Calais. The fire was quickly extinguished by the ship's fire protection system. Nobody was injured and the ship disembarked all the passengers safely. The stricken ferry was taken to Arno Shipyard in Dunkerque for repairs; to make up for the missing ship,
Pride of Burgundys services were increased from three to five. In early 2019,
Pride of Canterbury, like all P&O vessels on the Dover-to-Calais route, was flagged out to Cyprus, a measure explained by the company as motivated by tax advantages in view of
Brexit. She is now registered in
Limassol. On 21 March 2022, United Kingdom Transport Secretary
Grant Shapps announced that he would require P&O Ferries to rename
Pride of Canterbury and other ships on the fleet which carry British names if the company was found to have breached employment regulations following the summary dismissal without notice via
Zoom of 800 British seafarers who were to be replaced with cheaper overseas agency workers. On 24 March 2022, P&O Ferries CEO Peter Hebblethwaite confirmed that the management of the company illegally fired 800 British seafarers so it was expected that the ship would have to have its name changed as Shapps announced three days previously. She retired on 5 October 2023, with her final crossing from Dover to Calais, before travelling to Tilbury Docks. In January 2024, she departed for
Aliağa, Turkey. She was beached on the 16 January and scrapped. She was replaced by the
P&O Liberté. ==Sister ships==