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F/B GOLDEN
VERGINA
Page
dedicated to Captain Vassilis Giannakis,
hystorical Master of this ship under Agapitos
ownership from 1990 till the sale
Photo © George Giannakis,
16/09/95 #6156
|
Ship |
Golden
Vergina (1988) ΓΚΟΛΝΤΕΝ
ΒΕΡΓΙΝΑ |
Building Spec. |
Chantiers
de l’Atlantique, St.
Nazaire, France, 1966 – N° F23 |
|
Call Sign |
SVAF |
IMO
Number |
6613548 |
|
GRT |
4.555 |
DWT |
1.099 |
|
Dimensions |
115
x 18,1 x 4,36 |
Engines |
2 Atlantique – Pielstick 16PC2-V400, 10.944 kW |
|
Speed |
21
knots |
Passengers |
1.500 |
|
Beds |
256
in 79 cabins |
Cars |
170 |
|
Lane Metres |
|
Sister ships |
Express Naias (Scrapped in 2003) |
|
Registry Port |
Piraeus |
Flag |
Greek |
|
Former Names/Own. |
Corse – Compagnie Generale Transatlantique
06/1966-07/1969 Corse – Compagnie Generale Transmediterraneenne
07/1969-76 Corse – S.N.C.M. Societe Nationale
Corse Mediterranee 03/1976-12/1981 Golden Vergina – Stability Maritime 12/1981-1988 |
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|
New Names/Owners |
Express Samina – Minoan Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 01/2000 Sunk near Portes reef (Paros island) on 26/09/00 |
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Line |
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“Corse” was a product of French’s Atlantic yards, which
were, together with Leroux and Le Havre, the main suppliers of French
State-ownerd ferry companies until the most recent newbuildings “Danielle
Casanova” and “Pascal Paoli”, respectively built by Fincantieri Ancona and last
ferry of Dutch yard Van der Giessen – De Noord. She stayed under French flag
for 16 years, sailing out of Marseille, Toulon and Nice to Corsica, Algeria and
Tunisia, being replaced then by the first generation of French “Superferries”.
She was bought in 1982 by Stability Maritime and was not much altered by the
refit, carried before her deployment on Brindisi – Piraeus - Haifa. Her career
between Italy and Israel came to an end in 1988, and the ferry was soon sold to
Agapitos Bros, which deploued her on Piraeus - Paros - Ikaria - Samos route
without changing her name. When Agapitos relatives decided to separate their
ways, this ferry remained on her route under Agapitos Lines brands, involving
also Naxos and Syros between her ports of call in the last period of service.
In winter 1999 was sold to Minoan Flying Dolphins and named “Express Samina”,
entering the Hellas Ferries fleet to serve the same line of Agapitos Lines. On
26/09/00, sailing on the same route Piraeus - Paros - Naxos - Ikaria - Fourni -
Samos - Patmos - Lipsi, the ship hit a reef three kilometres far of Paros Port
and sank, causing the death or missing of 80 passengers. I’ll surely talk of
the sinking when updating Hellas Ferries webpages, anyway here I would like to
spend some words for the man whose this page is dedicated
to, Captain Vassilis Giannakis. As already said, “Kaptan Vassilis” held the
Master place from 1990 till the sale to Minoan Flying Dolphins, and then, after
a short spell as Master of “Express Olympia” he was again on duty on “Express
Samina” till the tragic September 26, 2000. I’ve already said that I’ll talk
later about the accident, but it seems to me that the responsibility of
Vassilis Giannakis in this tragedy is very low, while not directly only
objective. It is very important, anyway, to remember that Greece is a country
formed by a great number of islands, so the Sea, the ships and those who’re
working on ships are the starring players on everyday’s live, playing a very
important role. This role was played by master Giannakis excellently, from the
first to the last day of his unlucky career. The “Golden Vergina” always sailed
and always arrived, with safety and punctuality, in every weather condition,
and master Giannakis made it possibile with courage, competence and skill. And
I think it’s important to remember a thing which is unknown or forgotten by
many people, that being the master of a passenger ferry is not easy, forcing to
hard work, with strange working hours, living far from home and their own
families, proving to be usually far harder than any common work, so I don’t
think is right accusing a man which was asleep at the moment of the crash,
relaxing himself before manoeuvring the ferry into Paros harbour, as he did
hundreds of times. Hadn’t him the right to rest? And is he guilt if those who
had to watch the ship’s course during his rest, didn’t it? Before writing these
words I asked myself if my thoughts about these facts
were influenced by my personal situation. The answer was “no”, because many
persons, which are not involved in any way in this worse history described
“Kaptan Vassilis” to me as one of the best, if not absolutely better among
Greek captains, and I think there is no matter of discussion about the skill of
Hellenic captains, and didn’t hesitate to describe him as being not responsible
of what happened. Considering all these facts, I think that it would be a
reasonable choice to give him a mercy provision, hoping that it will happen in
a reasonable time. After long years in jail, now Vassilis
Giannakis is again free, but I would like to dedicate
him this page, even if I know he is remembered most for her excellent work
throughout the years.
Photo Gallery
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From Commis’s |
|
collection |
COMPAGNIE GENERALE
TRANSATLANTIQUE (C.G.T.) – Corse (1966-1969)
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Bastia, 1980 |
|
Massilia555 – Wikimedia |
SNCM – Corse (1976-1981)
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Piraeus, 1983 |
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Fleet File Rotterdam |
STABILITY MARITIME – Golden
Vergina (1981-1988)
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George Giannakis |
AGAPITOS BROS – Golden Vergina (1988-1992)
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Piraeus,
02/09/1994 |
Vathi (Samos), 31/12/1994 |
Vathi (Samos), 31/12/1994 |
Piraeus |
Piraeus |
Piraeus |
|
Michele Lulurgas |
George Giannakis |
George Giannakis |
Gunnar Menzer |
Antonios Lazaris |
Antonios Lazaris |
AGAPITOS
LINES – Golden Vergina (1992-2000)
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Drapetsona, 16/07/2000 |
Piraeus, July
2000 |
|
Aleksi Lindström |
Peter J. Fitzpatrick |
MINOAN
FLYING DOLPHINS / HELLAS FERRIES – Express Samina (2000)