G.A.
Ferries, a company belonging to Gerasimos Agoudimos, started operations at the end of 80’s with
three ferries: the Japanese twins renamed “Milena”
and “Daliana” and the ex-channel ferry
“Earl Harold”, previously called “Ailsa
Princess”, which was named “Dimitra”.
The first routes where these ships were deployed were the Central Cyclades (Syros – Tinos – Myconos - Paros – Naxos – Ios
– Santorini), Ikaria, Samos,
Crete and Rhodes via Crete – Karpathos. Since
1991 the flagship of the fleet is the beautiful “Rodanthi”,
which was deployed along “Daliana” on the
route Piraeus – Rhodes via Cyclades –
Crete – Karpathos; at the end of 1992 a fift ship joined the G.A. Ferries operations: the “Romilda”, well know as the Channel ferry “Hengist” later “Stena
Hengist”. Also this ship
started to link Piraeus and Rhodes, but calling
at Patmos, Kalymnos, Kos, Nissiros, Tilos and Symi instead of Crete
and Karpathos.
In 1993 G.A.
Ferries tried to enter the Adriatic market, deploying their splendid flagship
“Rodanthi” to Ancona – Corfu
– Igoumenitsa – Patras
line. Subsequently was unexpectedly accompanied by the new “Romilda”: this because the ex - “Free
Enterprise VIII”, although bought to serve domestic links to substitute
the first “Romilda”, was flagged out from
the Greek Registry along with “Rodanthi”
for unknown reasons. However, probably because the “Romilda”
was not suitable for long crossings like these from Ancona
to Patras, probably because, even if the “Rodanthi” is fantastic had to front ships like the
“Ionian Island”, “Fedra”,
“El Greco”, “Ionian Galaxy”, “Daedalus”
and the new entry on Ancona market “El. Venizelos”, probably because the improbable summer
timetable (departing from Ancona Tuesday and Thursday
at 20.00 to Corfu (16.00) and Igoumenitsa (17.00) continuing on Saturday crossing also to
Patras (23.00)) was almost never performed, the
international link was abandoned the following year for the lucrative domestic
market. Moreover, in 1994 the “Marina”
which for three years was advertised to be rebuilt, entered at least on Piraeus – Dodecanese – Rhodes line, along with “Rodanthi” and confirming the high standards on board
the flagship. In 1995 the original “Dimitra”
was substituted by the new one, previously the “Ionian
Sea” of Strintzis, bought together
with Dane Sea Line which, in 1997, entirely bought the vessel. G.A. Ferries
decided to substitute her with an ex-Tirrenia, ferry,
the “Verga” which was renamed “Dimitroula” and started to ply the Thessaloniki – Sporades – Cyclades –
Crete line together with Minoan Lines’s “El Greco”. At the end of 1999 G.A. Ferries
bought a fast monohull, the “Express Ionion”, which won a service permission to Cephalonia and Ithaca from Patras;
in November 1999 the company belonging to Gerasimos Agoudimos sell the 46% stake of her capital to Minoan
Flying Dolphins: the consequences were that the Akti Kondyli building became the Head Office of M.F.D. and of
her subsidiaries “Hellas Ferries” and “Saronikos
Ferries” and, unfortunately, theater of Pandelis Sfinias’s suicide;
the “Express Ionion” changes her name to
“JetFerry 1”, a name recalling
M.F.D. and painted very similar to M.F.D. catamarans instead being painted as
all G.A. ships; finally two orders of 150 metres / 29 knots
ferries from Aker Finnyards
of Rauma were cancelled. After some years of very
close service with H.F.D., on 2003 Gerasimos Agoudimos bought back the stake capital in H.F.D. hands
then, considering that in 2005 “Daliana”
and “Milena” will be 35 years old and the
“Marina” 34, started to buy some vessels: on summer 2003 the
“PO Kent”, renamed “Anthi
Marina” and deployed on November 2003 on Piraeus – Dodecanese line;
on March 2004 the “PO Canterbury”, renamed “Alkimini A” and deployed on the new line Brindisi – Corfu – Igoumenitsa
from June; that ship was subsequently sold to Polferries
in October 2004; then on summer 2004 the company announced also the purchase of
the “Arborea” from Tirrenia,
due to join the fleet in September 2004, but soon after G.A. Ferries decided to
quit its offer leaving the ferry to the Italian company. Finally, the company
bought the “Pride of Provence” from
P&O, which should start her services in 2005: after a while was chartered
out to Kystlink.
HELP ME BUILDING THE
SITE!!!