1999

Translation by Davide Tognolini

NorTHERN Adriatic SEA

For the first time, a ferry begins its career in Trieste: it's the recently purchased Anek Lines “Sophocles V.”. A 9-year-old ship, with such characteristics that make her very similar to the first “fast ro-pax ferries”. Anek decides to send her to Trieste rather than Ancona, the centre of competition in the Adriatic Sea. With “El. Venizelos”, the company offers three journeys a week to Patras and two to Corfu - Igoumenitsa. It is curious to notice that the name originally intended for “Sophocles V.”, dedicated to Eleftherios Venizelos' son Sophocles, is “Sof. Venizelos” and this name can be found in 1999 leaflets, but it is rapidly changed in order to avoid misunderstandings. Minoan Lines offers no novelties and maintains the same timetable used in 1998, with  “Aretousa”, “Erotokritos”, “Fedra” and “Daedalus”. Strintzis Lines, on the contrary, offers a new, bizarre timetable, with four ships in Venice which, strangely, leave only four times a week from Venice because of the service splitted between Venice and Ancona. The first round-trip, leaving on Mondays from Patras (on Wednesdays at 5 pm from Venice), is done by “Ionian Galaxy”, back from Libya where she was chartered. At the beginning, the company's leaflets anticipate the return of “Superferry” - the ferry was chartered to the Irish operator Swansea Cork Ferries - which should have been renamed “Superferry Kerkira”. The second round-trip is done by “Ionian Island”, which leaves from Patras on Tuesdays evenings and from Venice at 6 pm on Thursdays. The other round-trips from Patras are far more interesting: Wednesdays and Thursdays departures (in the evening) are followed by the departures from Venice on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm. The ferries employed on this route are “Ionian Victory” and the new “Superferry Hellas”, a huge, fast (24 knots) Japanese ro-pax ferry - the one with the biggest capacity used on this route. There is another change in the Northern Adriatic area, that is the new Patras to Porto Marghera (the trading port of Venice) route: the operator which offers this new route is Express Sea Trailers, a Kostas Agapitos-owned company, with “Sea Trailer”. This ferry is the fourth sister of the Hayashikane Shimonoseki series whose first ships were “Orion” and “Pegasus”, better known in Greece as “Daedalus” and “Aptera”.

ANCONA

Strintzis Lines is still a main protagonist in Ancona, with five journeys a week: three direct 23-hour journeys from Ancona to Patras with fast “Ionian Victory” and “Superferry Hellas” (24 knots). The departures from Ancona on Mondays are at 2 pm, and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 pm, from Patras on Mondays and Tuesdays at 6 pm and on Saturdays at 12 am. The two fast ferries are good ro-ro's, but “Superferry Hellas” is also a very comfortable ship from the passenger's point of view (with such “optional” as the swimming pool). She is a worthy “heiress” of Strintzis' cruise-ferries and on board you can find everywhere advertisements of the five new ships commissioned by Strintzis Lines to shipyards in Holland, Korea and Greece which will be ready in 2000 and 2001. The other two departures from Ancona are on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 pm (from Greece on Fridays and Saturdays at 12 am) with “Ionian Galaxy”, taking the place of “Superferry Kerkira”, and “Ionian Island”. Superfast Ferries still employs “Superfast III” and “Superfast IV” and offers the same timetable of the previous year. However, towards the end of 1999, due to a fire on board “Superfast III”, the latter is replaced by “Superfast II” for quite a long period. Minoan Lines still employs “Ikarus” and “Pasiphae” on the Ancona - Igoumenitsa - Patras route, while Anek Lines - like Minoan and Superfast - doesn't change its fleet, still consisting of “Kriti I” and “Kriti II” operating the route to Igoumenitsa and Patras.

BARI

The arrival of “Superfast I” and “Superfast II” in Bari is a veritable stroke: the two ferries, regularly servicing from Bari to Igoumenitsa and Patras, have the highest standards ever known in Bari. Marlines is one of the victims, still it keeps on servicing the Igoumenitsa route with “Countess M” e “Duchess M” remaining a historical protagonist in Bari; the actual victim is Ventouris Ferries which shuts down the route to Patras. However, the company still operates the Bari - Corfu - Igoumenitsa route with “Athens Express”, chartering “Venus” and “Polaris” to Norhern European operators. Yet, there is a novelty in Bari: Poseidon Lines, a company which used to operate the same route as Ventouris, decides to service again the route from Bari to Igoumenitsa with two ferries:  “Sea Serenade” and “Sea Symphony”, a former ro-ro ferry built by the Orlando shipyard and recently transformed in ro-pax ferry with a capability of 250 passengers. The latter is mainly employed on the route to Turkey and can't really worry Superfast..

BRINDISI – Otranto

The presence of ro-pax ferries in Brindisi is becoming more and more important and the new routes enjoy a moderate success. The route between Brindisi and Corfu-Igoumenitsa is operated by Ventouris Ferries with “Vega” and “Saturnus”, while the Brindisi - Igoumenitsa - Kefalionia - Patras route is serviced by Strintzis Lines with “Ionian Bridge”. This same route is operated by Med Link Lines with the three ferries “Afrodite II”, “Agios Andreas” and “Maria G”, and by Five Star Lines with recently bought “Brindisi” - from the bankrupt company Vergina Ferries and now renamed “Athina I” - and “Poseidon”, already operating on the Brindisi – Igoumenitsa – Patras route. Let's not forget the “classical” ferries, such as Adriatica's “Egitto Express”, which is employed (alone) on the route to Patras via Corfu and Igoumenitsa. HML still uses “Media II” and “Egnatia II”, while Agoudimos Lines employs the veteran “Kapetan Alexandros A”. Diler Lines offers “Captain Zaman II” and her sister “Captain Zaman I” (former Minoan's “Festos”) on the Brindisi – Corfu – Igoumenitsa line; these two ships, along with Fragline “Ouranos”, are the last former Minoan ferries in Brindisi in 1999. One may think that Fragline has always owned “Ouranos”, so why should we talk about Minoan? The fact is that Fragline has selled the former “Ouranos” for a new one, that is ex “Ariadne”. A clever move: she's probably the best and fastest ship from Bridisi to Corfu-Igoumenitsa.

Photos in this page are courtesy of Daniele Miglio, Pieter Inpijn, Fleet File Rotterdam, Kurth Warth, Emilio Barenghi, Michele Lulurgas, Stefanos Antoniadis; other images are official photographs and postcards.

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