MS SuperStar II

In September 1983 DSB Færger ordered two relatively large ferries for service on the intra-Denmark Århus—Kalundborg route from the Nakskov Skibsværft in Nakskov, Denmark. Although ordered by the ferry division of the Danish State Railways, the ships did not have the facilities for transporting trains, but were constructed to transport road freight and passengers. Both ships were named after characters from the works of Ludvig Holberg, a Norwegian-born writer considered to be the father of modern Danish literature. First of the ships, delivered in 1985, was named MS Peder Paars after the poem Peder Paars. The second, delivered a years later, was named after the protagonist in Niels Klim's Underground Travels. ==Service history==

Peder Paars was delivered to DSB Færger on 18 October 1985, but it was not until a month later that she entered service on the Århus—Kalundborg route. Århus was also her port of registry at the time. She and her sister remained in service for five years, until in October 1990 both ships were sold to Stena Line, to be delivered in May 1991. On 19 May 1991 both Peder Paars and Niels Klim were withdrawn from service, replaced by the notably smaller second-hand ferries and . The following day Peder Paars was renamed Stena Invicta and sailed to the Schichau-Seebeckswerft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany, for rebuilding for service in the English Channel for Stena Line's subsidiary Sealink Stena Line. For this purpose the ship was re-registered in the United Kingdom, with Dover as her homeport. On 8 August 1991 Stena Invicta entered service on the Dover—Calais route. == References ==