Ulster Prince was the first of three new car ferries delivered to Coast Lines in 1966/67 to update the Irish Sea services of the Belfast Steamship Company.

The third new ship, Lion was smaller and took over the Ardrossan - Belfast day service of Burns & Laird.

[4] The service closed in 1981 and Ulster Prince was laid up in Ostend.

In 1995, she was bought by Hellenic Mediterranean Lines and renamed Neptunia, but later the same year was in use as Panther for Hellenic Orient Lines between Bari and Çeşme.

In 2000, she was named Vatan and then Manar, the latter for Al Thuraya Marine Service Company of Dubai between Port Rashid and Umm Qasr, Iraq.