Portsmouth - Bilbao

Brittany Ferries announced their intention to begin operating to Bilbao on the 24th September 2010, just hours before P&O were due to withdraw from the route. The route originally opened in 1993 with P&O's mv Pride of Bilbao, in direct competition to the established Brittany Ferries Plymouth - Santander service.

The mv Cap Finistere will commence service on the route on the 27th March 2011 with two sailings per week in each direction. Departures from Portsmouth on Sunday's additionally call in Roscoff en route to Bilbao in order to allow a crew change to take place (the mv Cap Finistere being the only BF ship not to have a French route in its weekly schedule), meaning that this departure takes 33hrs compared with her Friday departure of 24hrs.

Prior to officially opening the Portsmouth - Bilbao route the mv Cap Finistere carried out berthing trials in Bilbao on the 13th October 2010 on a scheduled Portsmouth - Santander sailings. She also carried out berthing trials in Roscoff on the return journey on the 14th October. Berthing trails were repeated in Bilbao on the 24th November.

Brittany Ferries also operate sailings to Santander in Northern Spain from Plymouth, Poole and Portsmouth. In 2009 180,000 passengers travelled between Portsmouth and Bilbao, and 193,000 in 2008.