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F/B AINOS

Photo from Polmyt’s collection, Poros #30884

Ship	Ainos (1978) ΑΙΝΟΣ	Building Spec.	Solvesbörg Varv AB, Solvesbörg, Sweden, 1964 – N° 66
Call Sign	SV4825	IMO Number	6403163
GRT	1.291	DWT	500
Dimensions	71,9 x 12,7 x 3,61	Engines	2 Klöckner-Humboldt – Deutz 8c, 3.133 kW
Speed	17,5 knots	Passengers	519
Beds	-	Cars	70
Lane Metres		Sister Ships
Registry Port	Piraeus	Flag	Greek
Former Names/Own.	Apollo – Rederi AB Slite (Viking Line) 05/1964-09/1967 Manic – La Traverse Nord-Sud 09/1967-1970 Manic – Canadian National / Government of Canada 1970-02/1978
New Names/Owners	Neraida II – Sigma Ferries 05/1989-03/1990 Ydra – Ventouris Ferries 03/1990-02/1993 Agios Nektarios – Ventouris Lines 02/1993-04/2006 Sank in shallow waters at Keratsini, Greece, 24/12/2003 Scrapped at Keratsini (Greece) in June 2006
Line

The APOLLO was the first purpose-built passenger ferry of Rederi AB Slite, a Gotland-based shipowning company founded by Carl Bertil Myrsten. Planning to link Simpnas, in Sweden, with Mariehamn, on Aland Islands, from May 1964, the completion of the ferry was behind schedule, so the shipowner decided to promise to the shipyard’s workers a free cruise to Bornholm if the APOLLO was delivered on time. This happened, so the first sailing of the ferry was from Solvesbörg to Rønne, the main port of Bornholm island. Before heading to Mariehamn for the first time, the APOLLO was also displayed to the public in her home port, Slite, on Gotland island. Another fun fact of the ferry is about the red colour chosen for her hull: as long as the competitors of Rederi AB Slite had the hull painted in blue (Rederi AB Vikinglinjen, which later became Rederi AB Sally) or in yellow (Rederi AB Alandsfarjan, which later became SF Line), the board decided to paint APOLLO’s hull in red, and having not any colour sample to paint on a metal sheet, this was painted with the lipstick of Carl Bertil Myrsten’s wife. Being satisfied by the effect those shade of red which was named “Mexican Fire” had on metal, that colour was finally chosen and later known as the “Apollo Red”.

After a first period of competition on Aland services against Rederi AB Vikinglinjen and Rederi AB Alandsfarjan, the board of the three companies decided to merge their forces as they were confident of that a consortium between the three companies would bring more benefits for all rather than competing against each other. This consortium took the commercial name of Viking Line, a brand which still exists today, even if the consortium had passed through hard times, mainly because each company of the consortium, time by time, tried to gain a dominant position over the other two. Rederi AB Slite, which obtained from the other two members of the consortium that all the vessels of Viking Line would have the hull painted in the notorious “Apollo Red”, started experiencing financial troubles at the end of 80’s, and was declared bankrupt in 1993, when its gigantic cruise ferries OLYMPIA, ATHENA and KALIPSO were auctioned and sold to other operators, leaving Viking Line without three of their best ferries; moreover their new flagship, which was almost ready for the delivery by the German Meyer Werft yard of Papenburg, wasn’t collected by the company and subsequently sold to Silja Line, the strongest competitor of Viking Line.

Back to the present vessel, as told, was deployed from May 15^th, 1964 on the Norrtälje – Mariehamn line, wearing her distinctive red livery with a white arrow painted over, displaying also the nickname “Ålandspilen”, which effectively means “Aland’s arrow”; during the same period, the APOLLO sailed some times also between Sweden and mainland Finland, connecting Nystad in Finland with Simpnäs or Norrtälje. At the end of 1964, Rederi AB Slite and Rederi AB Vikinglinjen started collaborating sailing out of Kapellskär, some 90 km northeast of Stockholm, to Mariehamn and Pargas, near Turku, and finally from May 1965 she started sailing under Viking Line livery, having the first “Ålandspilen” livery painted out.

At the end of October, 1965, she received a small refit at Gävle yard of Sweden, where her stern was altered to improve her seakeeping abilities on ice; anyway, during February 1966, sailing on a new Nynäsham – Pargas service, the APOLLO seriously took the chance to become a forerunner of the ESTONIA. Plunging into the waves during heavy weather, the bow visor was lifted and water entered; the water started to freeze (outside temperature was at minus 14°C) and a piece of ice became wedged under the bow visor, making the car deck flooded with water. By luck, the flooding was soon discovered and the APOLLO was put on windward while the crew managed to solve the situation. An interesting story about this accident involved the master of the ferry and the shipowner: while the first urged to communicate to the second that the APOLLO was not seaworthy, the shipowner replied that the master was too pessimist. 28 years later, when the ESTONIA tragedy occurred, Carl Bertil Myrsten called the master of the APOLLO and apologized for what he said in February 1966. By chance, the ESTONIA was built for Rederi AB Sally, another member of Viking Line consortium, and sailed under their colours for ten years, being very similar to the DIANA II, which was built for Rederi AB Slite.

The APOLLO, anyway rapidly became too small for the traffic, having been designed for the short route between Sweden and Åland islands and being used on the much longer Kapellskär – Mariehamn – Nadendal line, a service which required a good number of cabins and a bigger garage, so Rederi AB Slite agreed to sell to Canadian interests the APOLLO during September 1967, having her last sailing for Viking Line on September 25^th, 1967. The sale agreement with Canadians provided that the Canadian crew was to be leaded by Swedish commanders for the delivery voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. During the first part of the trip, between Sweden and Lisbon, where the MANIC, as the new ownership has decided to rename the vessel, was to be refuelled before sailing into the Atlantic, the ship encountered severe weather, which also caused a leak of water from the stern door. At a certain pont, the Canadian crew abandoned their cabins to go to the aft bar, where they were able to see the sky and the sea, because, they said, if they were going to die, they wanted to see how it happened. Finally, the MANIC arrived in Rimouski, a town on St. Lawrence River in Quebec Province of Canada, on October 18^th, 1967, where was warmly welcomed by the residents, and started linking her new home port with Forestville, on the opposite bank of St. Lawrence river. Later, she would also connect Rimouski with Baie Comeau and Souris, on Prince Edward Island, to Cap aux Meules, on Madeline islands.

In 1975 there were plans to deploy the MANIC between Pictou, New Scotland, and Prince Edward Island for Northumberland Ferries, but the financial problems of the company caused these programs to abort and a long lay up for the ferry, divided between the ports of Pictou and Halifax. In 1978, Strintzis Lines was looking for a ferry to open a new line between Kyllini and Poros, and they went again to Canada, where they have bought the LEIF ERICSON two years before, to buy the MANIC, which was renamed to AINOS, the highest mountain of Cephalonia island, and sailed on February 15^th to Greece. Anyway, the quay at Poros was not ready, and it wasn’t until August 1980, so Strintzis Lines launched the AINOS on a new route from Rafina to Syros, Paros and Naxos, having the hull painted in the classical Strintzis blue, but displaying a fir tree on her dummy funnel. The fir tree left its place to the Ionian Ferries consortium logo when the AINOS was finally moved to the line she was acquired for, the Kyllini – Poros, which started in August 1980. The AINOS was still very close to her appearance as the APOLLO, being altered only by the addition of two external staircases at stern for foot passengers, and was remembered because she used to sail with a list of about three degrees. At the end of 1985 the Ionian Ferries consortium broke up, and the AINOS started sailing under the “Σ” brand, both on her classic Kyllini – Poros service, and also sailing from Rafina to Cyclades in her last spell before her sale, which happened in May 1989.

Having never operated from the main Greek port of Piraeus, this ship finally did it when she was bought by Sigma Ferries, a company belonging to Simantonis family, which is well known for publishing the Greek shipping magazine “Efoplistis”. The AINOS was renamed as the NERAIDA II, and put on Piraeus – Aegina – Methana – Poros – Hydra – Spetses – Porto Heli line, without significant alterations but her hull colour, which became white.

In March 1990, the original APOLLO saw another change in her ownership, being sold to Ventouris Ferries as the YDRA, and continuing to sail on Argosaronikos routes as she did for Sigma Ferries. Her career with Ventouris Ferries lasted about three years, when she was sold to another member of Ventouris family, Antonios Ventouris, which started her new company, named Ventouris Lines, to serve Argosaronikos islands.

In 1996, Ventouris Lines collapsed due to financial difficulties and the AGIOS NEKTARIOS, the name given to the ship after her purchase by Ventouris Lines, was laid up in Piraeus and later in Neo Ikonio, where the ship sank in shallow waters during a storm in December 2003. Was then refloated and scrapped in place the following year.

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