“THE SCHOOL REPORT”

Always in our past years we remember a characteristical thing of our school: the report!!! So I decided to try giving a mark to the ferry companies, considering the former year of service, the 2004; sine this report the marks will be reviewed every six months, considering the new facts and the prospective. Hope that you would like this new section!

IMPORTANT: THE PRESENT MARKS ARE BASED ON OBJECTIVE FACTS, BUT ALSO ON PERSONAL OPINIONS; THEY AREN’T A QUALITY VALUE BECAUSE I’VE NOT THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE TO VALUE A FERRY SERVICE.

Name	Mark	Notes
Adriatic Ferries	7	A company which started only this year its operations from Ancona to Albania, serving the route with an old but very good ship, the former Adriatica ferry “Riviera del Conero”.
Adriatica Navigazione	6	The company serves the Bari – Durres and the Ancona – Split line. They are not anymore the same company of 10/15 years ago, so the value should have been more low, but, considering the opponents of Adriatica on both Croatian and Albanian services, we should say that they’re operating with more modern ferries. Recently the “Palladio” class sisters were substituted by three bigger Tirrenia ferries. The question is if these ferries are needed on such services.
Agoudimos Lines	7,5	This year was appreciated almost everywhere: on Rafina line the old well-known “Penelope A” was considered the best ferry sailing out of that port; the “Ionian Sky” was able to improve the service discontinued by Blue Star Ferries on Brindisi – Corfu – Igoumenitsa line; moreover they had serviced two routes sailing from Italy to Albania with the other “Penelope A” and the classic “Kapetan Alexandros A”. Next year, then, the company should have two more ferries coming from Japan, so I hope to be able to confirm this excellent rating!
Anek Lines	3	Ten years ago was one of the better operators, being able to gain the better vote; nowadays for this company is very difficult to challenge the market: from Ancona they are operatine one of the slowest connections; from Trieste has operated with the “Sophocles V” and “Lefka Ori” while the flagship “El. Venizelos” was chartered to Co.Tu.Nav., depriving the Adriatic sea of one of the most interesting ferries; on Cretan routes we find the unlovely sisters ”Kriti I/II”, the poor “Aptera” with a little ray of light on Chania route, where however the opponents are operating faster vessels than ANEK ones. They should improve very much!
Blue Star Ferries	6,5	Operating almost exclusively on domestic routes, has a good network of connections to Cyclades, which could gain a very good evaluation, and two longer route sto dodecanese and Chania. The value could be better if the ferries operated were more “complete” (a better bed capacity on ferries to Cyclades and a working swimming-pool on the other two routes, which are sailing also on daylight) but, considering their opponents, we can say that this is the best domestic operator.
Dane Sea Line	6	This value is given due to the “love” to this operator, which ceased their operations in September after the arrest of the ferry due to the debts of the company. They seems not able to come back on ferry scene.
Fragline	6,5	Actually there isn’t a great competition from Brindisi, but Fragline with their “Ouranos” is one of the most reliable and better operators. Both cheap and confortable, the company is one of the few serving a night-passage from Brindisi to Corfu and Igoumenitsa.
G.A. Ferries	5-	My idea was to give a lower rate to G.A. Ferries, but they aren’t the worst operators of the Aegean. The “Romilda” connects almost every corner of the Aegean without giving a good impression, the “Rodanthi” is not anymore the wonderful flagship o some time ago, the “Milena” and the “Daliana”, if they could speak they would ask the retirement. Among the most recent introductions, we can say that the “Anthi Marina” is inadequate to the serviced route, the “Alkmini A” was operated only for three months between Brindisi and Igoumenitsa before her sale to Polferries; we’re waiting the new “Alkmini A”, but the situation is not so good. Let’s see.
Hellas Ferries	4,5	Not anymore the stronger Greek ferry company as it was four years ago; they have sold some ferries which were still in good shape, as it was demonstrated by the companies which are operatine them with profit; since September they have retired also the “Express Olympia” and the “Express Poseidon” claiming that they aren’t anymore suitable for the service (even if the “Express Adonis” is still in service!), but avoiding to sell them to other Greek companies, causing a big damage to island residents and remembering us that husband which, wanting to play a nasty trick to his wife, decides to cut away his “…” . No comment.
Hellas Flying Dolphins	7	The other branch of H.F.D. group instead has good services with their fast catamarans, this year serving also Kalymnos and planning for the next summer a connection between Piraeus and Chania. If they were operating the ferries also in wintertime they would gain easily the “8” value.
Hellenic Mediterranean Lines	3	As a seriously ill patient, alternates good moments, as it was when they introduced on their services ferries as the “Egnatia II” or, recently, the “Egnatia III”, with delirious moments, when the above-mentioned ferries are chartered to north-african operators and the Brindisi – Greece services, on the few months while the hystorical Greek company decides to put something in service, we see ferries like the “Poseidonia” or, as it was in 2004, the “Arielle”. The bad mark I’ve assigned to them is mainly due to this decision, considering also that the Piraeus-based company announced that they would offer all-year round services with the “Egnatia III”…
Jadrolinija	6,5	Offering Italy – Croatia and Croatian domestic links, even if operating with dated ferries, they have a punctual and reliable service.
Lane Lines	6,5	Emerged as the local operator of Eastern Crete, actually is engaged also on two subsidized routes, those one connecting Piraeus, Crete and Rhodes, calling also at Heraklion and the long line sailing from Alexandruopolis to Rhodes along the Turkish coast.
Maritime Way	4	The “Erotokritos” is a fine ship for the Patras – Igoumenitsa – Brindisi line, but replacing ferries like “El Greco” and “King Minos” with the unlovely “Elli T.” is a crime, so the mark is a consequence of this decision. It seems that there would be some improvements of services for the new season, let’s see!
Marlines	4	The “Duchess M” is operating between Bari and Durres without distinguishing herself from their competitors; the elegant “Byblos”, the once time “Crown M” is still laid up in Eleusis even if she could be a profitable ship sailing from Brindisi.
Minoan Lines	8	A company which deserves the best mark, being very innovative offering a daily link from Venice to Patras (even if I think they could provide a more convenient arrival time in Patras), high-quality services on Ancona line and from Piraeus to Heraklion and serving also the Thessaloniki – Heraklion line with the excellent cruise-ferry “Daedalus”.
Nel Lines	5	They aren’t capable of the “pass” mark, due to the old age of the ferries servicing Chios and Lesvos, also repainted in a horrible way with the advertisement of an Electronic goods factory; the “Taxiarchis” was not repainted that way, but she didn’t offers quality services for passengers. Since September the “Aeolos” ferries are laid up, officially because of the bad sea conditions of this period, but it seems that the true reason are the extremely high operating costs.
Saos Ferries	6	The “6” mark is given due to the efforts of the company on difficult and unprofitable routes; the ferries of the fleet are not astonishing ones and also the newly-bought ferry acquired to replace the scrapped la “Nissos Lemnos” is not a ferry that can excite someone. The only appreciable ferry could be the “Panagia Krimniotissa” if she would have been extensively refitted, but this is a rather difficult perspective.
Sem Maritime Co. - Blue Line	6	Well-known Croatian operator, has three ferries on Ancona – Croatia line, sailing to Split, Zadar, Stari Grad and Malj Losinj. Between the ferries the good “Ancona”, which operated for several years as the “Knossos” of Minoan Lines.
Strintzis Ferries	7,5	An hystorical shipowning family, has recently returned on indipendent services from Patras and Kyllini to Cephalonia and Ithaki, two routes which seems to be not aimed from other operators. We would like to see Strintzis engaged also elsewhere, but this is already a good step.
Superfast Ferries	6,5	I decided to give them the same mark of Blue Star Ferries, which is part of the same group. The ferries of this company have an average age lower than three years, but their public spaces are very particular; moreover the reduction of the tonnage on Bari line had forced the Ancona ferries to make a weekly round trip to Bari, instead of their rest day in Patras. For the same reason, twice a-week the Patras – Ancona ferry which operates on the direct sailing is forced to call in Bari, delaying the arrival time in Ancona.
Ventouris A.K. – C-Link	6	This company operates on inter-Cyclades ferry services, being not very much advertised. They’ve bought a fast monohull, probably for Piraeus – Syros – Tinos – Mykonos line.
Ventouris Ferries	3	It’s impossibile to give a better mark to this company: ten years ago they were the “emperors” of Bari line, actually they’re operating four ferries on daily basis to Durres and Igoumenitsa, avoiding to distinguish themselves from the competitors. They would need a major investment of capitals, but probably this is impossibile for the company.
Ventouris Sea Lines	7	Being out of busines for almost ten years, they came back to ferry operations in 2004 with the “Agios Georgios” serving the Cyclades out of Rafina, being appreciated by the customers; recently she was transferred to Piraeus, serving both the Paros – Naxos – Ios – Santorini line and the Western Cyclades line, two routes which were served by this ferry also in her former Ventouris service as the “Apollo Express 2”.

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