It was built at Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre shipyard in France for Truckline Ferries and entered service in 1977.
In 1985 Truckline was purchased by Brittany Ferries and in 1986 they sent Coutances and her sister Purbeck to be lengthened which increased their capacity by 34%.
In November 2007 Coutances was replaced on most Poole-Cherbourg sailings by the Cotentin, a new freight ferry constructed by Aker Finnyards.
As the Rosa Eugenia she is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines On the morning of 4 September 2018, the ferry began to sink on the outskirts of the Eulalia Buróz marine terminal, located in the city of Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui state.
On 13 December 2007 Coutances sailed from Portsmouth to the Channel Islands on charter to Condor Ferries to cover for the damaged Commodore Goodwill.