F/B Dimitrios Express - Valletta/Piraeus

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F/B DIMITRIOS EXPRESS

ARKADIA LINES FB Dimitrios Express

Photo © Per Jensen

Ship	Dimitrios Express (1990 / 1994)	Building Spec.	Schiffbau Gesellschaft Unterweser, Bremerhaven, West Germany, 1973 – N° 485
Call Sign		IMO Number	7302885
GRT	7.819	DWT	1.309
Dimensions	119,60 x 17,81 x 4,95	Engines	2 Blohm & Voss - Pielstick 12PC2V400, 8.826 kW
Speed	22 knots	Passengers	1.870
Beds	560 in 120 cabins	Cars	215
Lane Metres	400	Sister ships	Beauport (scrapped in 2005)
Registry Port	Valletta	Flag	Malta
Former Names/Own.	Saint Patrick – Irish Continental Line 05/1973-05/1982 Saint Colum I – Belfast Car Ferries 05/1982-11/1990 Dimitrios Express – Arkadia Lines 11/1990-01/1993 Kadia Express – Arkadia Lines 01/1993-01/1994
New Names/Owners	Poseidon Express 2 – Arkadia Lines 04/1996-12/1999 Express Poseidon – Minoan Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 01/2000-12/2001 Express Poseidon – Hellas Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 01/2002-12/2004 Express Poseidon – Hellenic Seaways 01/2005-06/2005 Scrapped at Alang (India) as “Express P” in June 2005
Line

Owned by both the companies of the two Irish countries, this ship was delivered to Irish Continental Group in 1973 as the “Saint Patrick”, named after the saint patron of Ireland; the ownership of the vessel wasn’t anyway entirely Irish, as long as the Swedish company Lion Ferry had a 25% stake of the “Saint Patrick”. Deployed between Le Havre, France and Rosslare, Ireland, in 1977 the Lion Ferry stake in the ferry was purchased by Irish Ferries, which continued to operate the ferry on France – Ireland route until January 1982, except for very brief spells in charter to Normandy Ferries and B+I Line; the ferry later sailed under Belfast Car Ferries livery, linking Northern Ireland’s main city, Belfast, with Liverpool under the name “Saint Colum I”. In 1988 an American company, Royal Fiesta Cruises, planned to rebuild her as a cruise-ship to be used from Miami to Key West and Mexico as “Fiesta Princesa”, but these plans didn’t materialize. After about nine years of service to Northern Ireland, on November 1990 was sold to Arkadia Lines, sailing to Greece as the “Dimitrios Express”. The company planned to deploy her alongside the flagship “Poseidon Express” on the Piraeus – Paros – Naxos – Ios – Santorini line, and started rebuilding the ship in Perama, adding superstructure and new facilities at stern, but also two side sponsons to improve her stability after the increased weight added on the ferry; anyway during the works the company changed plans and the ferry was reflagged to Malta, being assigned to the new Patras – Igoumenitsa – Corfu – Bari line sailing alongside the “Paloma”. From 1993 to 1994 was named “Kadia Express”; I don’t remember nothing about her service under this name, but according to some sources she was engaged on Greece – Cyprus – Israel service under the brand “Kadia Lines”; in 1994 was renamed again “Dimitrios Express” and sent back in Adriatic sea, linking Igoumenitsa and Bari. In 1996, after the loss of original “Poseidon Express” in Paros, was little modified (the solarium above the bridge was cut, as two lifeboats each side; the solariums were reduced als at the stern), renamed “Poseidon Express 2”, departing daily at 18.30 from Piraeus to Paros, Naxos, Ios and Santorini, returning following day at 07.30 from the “Volcano Island” and diverting, once or twice a-week, also to Syros, Sikinos and Folegandros. For this service, obviously, was reflagged to Greece. However Paros and “Poseidon” ships do not agree very much: on 19/07/97, the ship had a black-out entering in Paros due to a problem in one generator: she discharged all the passengers and headed to Piraeus for repairs; on 12/06/99 she grounded on a reef near Paros and had a water ingress. She was rescued and resumed service ten days later. In 1998 and 1999 was the only ship in service for Arkadia Lines, sold at end of 1999 season to Minoan Flying Dolphins giving an end to Arkadia Lines services; for that operator is serving mainly two old Arkadia services: Piraeus – Cyclades – Ikaria – Samos and Piraeus – Paros – Naxos – Ios – Santorini. Actually is waiting a buyer laid up at Piraeus; the buyer was finally found in April 2005: an Indian scrapyard.

IRISH CONTINENTAL GROUP F/B Saint Patrick – Photo by courtesy of Micke Asklander

IRISH CONTINENTAL GROUP F/B Saint Patrick – Photo © Brian Fisher, Rosslare, August 1973 #3645

BELFAST CAR FERRIES F/B Saint Colum I – Photo © Brian Fisher, Liverpool, October 1983 #11738

BELFAST CAR FERRIES F/B Saint Colum I – Photo © Brian Fisher, River Mersey, June 1984 #3647

BELFAST CAR FERRIES M/N Saint Colum I – Foto © Albert Bridge, Belfast, 27/12/88, licensed to Wikimedia Commons

ARKADIA LINES FB Dimitrios Express 04_Emilio Barenghi

Photo © Emilio Barenghi

ARKADIA LINES FB Poseidon Express 2

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