Portsmouth to Caen was probably the shortest lived route in P&O's history.

Opening in time for the summer season in 2004 and closing at the end of the same season. There have been many theories as to why the route came into existance which cannot be mentioned here. No matter what the reasoning behind the route it had a moderate following.

It could be said that if the route had continued it might have been a success as Brittany Ferries introduced a weekend fast cat service between the two ports the year after P&O closed the route and are reported to be experiencing good to excellent results.

The fleet list for the route is by no suprise as short as the life of the route: the hsc Caen Express operated between April and October 2004 with a mixed crew. British P&O crew in the hospitality areas and Danish behind the scenes, with the vessel remaining Danish registered and Flagged.

The route was such an experiment the ship was never renamed and actually served the route under the name of hsc Max Mols on charter from Mols Linien, hsc Caen Express simply being a marketing name.