She was built at Aalborg Værft A/S in Denmark for DFDS Seaways as MV Dana Anglia and entered service with them in 1978.

On the 1st of October it was reported she had been sold to Ferry Med SRL and is to be renamed Santa Cruz.

[4] Under Brittany Ferries, Pont L'Abbé has only sailed in passenger service on the Plymouth-Roscoff and Portsmouth-Cherbourg routes.

In 1981, A ship named Dana Anglia appeared in the BBC TV movie Artemis 81.

[5] In July 2005 in Series 6, Episode 6 of the BBC TV show "Top Gear", the vessel appeared in the background of a shot taken in Newcastle during the Race to Oslo challenge.