Superfast Ferries S.A.
TypeWholly owned subsidiary
IndustryTransport
HeadquartersAthens, Greece
ProductsPassenger transportation, Freight transportation, Holidays, Business travel
ParentAttica Holdings
Websitewww.superfast.com
MS Superfast XI bound to Ancona passing Kefalonia island.
MS Blue Star 1 of the joint Superfast Ferries/Blue Star Ferries service from Rosyth to Zeebrugge in the Firth of Forth.

Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopulos.[1] Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 5 car-passenger ferries, offering daily connections between Ancona and Bari in Italy, and Patras and Igoumenitsa in Greece. Together with Blue Star Ferries, Africa Morocco Link, ANEK Lines and Hellenic Seaways, it is a subsidiary company of Attica Group, which is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.

Routes

In the past, Superfast Ferries has operated lines in several parts of Europe, in the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, North Sea, and the Baltic sea. Currently, they are mainly active in the Adriatic sea, operating between Greece and Italy. Their routes are between the Italian ports of Ancona and Bari and the Greek ports of Igoumenitsa and Patras, as well as between Bari and Corfu.

Superfast operated the Rosyth – Zeebrugge ferry service between 2002 and 2008. On 29 May 2008, it was announced that Superfast Ferries would withdraw across the North Sea. The service was subsequently withdrawn on 13 September 2008. The North Sea service was mainland Scotland's only year round, direct, scheduled ferry service to and from Continental Europe. The vessel used was Blue Star 1, which replaced the larger Superfast X on the route. Blue Star 1 has been reallocated to Attica's Mediterranean services. Norfolkline restarted the route in May 2009.[2]

Superfast also operated between Piraeus and Heraklion until 2013. On 8 March 2013 it was announced that Superfast VI has been sold to Genting Group and Superfast XII, which was operating that route, was transferred to its position in Adriatic Sea.

Superfast had proposed and was the favourite to run a new ferry service between Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom and IJmuiden, Netherlands in 2004 at the new Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour development after a bidding process held in 2002. Superfast never went ahead with the route.

Vessel allocations

In late 2005, Superfast ferries removed one of the two ships operating the link between Zeebrugge and Rosyth, thus turning the daily link from Belgium to Scotland into one operated only every other day. Superfast IX joined the two ship operation between Hanko and Rostock to serve the growing demand in the Finland – Germany service.

In addition, Superfast introduced a new "roll-on/roll-off" (RO/RO) service between Uusikaupunki and Rostock in January 2005. Attica has since moved one of the RO/RO ships, RORO MARIN, to their Adriatic Sea routes.

In April 2006, Superfast and Attica once more took the market by surprise by agreeing to sell the Superfast VII, Superfast VIII, and Superfast IX ice-class ferries to Estonian operator Tallink for €310 million.

In August 2006, Attica entered into an agreement to sell to Veolia Transport its ice-class vessel Superfast X trading between Scotland and Belgium for €112 million. The delivery of Superfast X took place in January 2007.

In September 2007, Pericles Panagopulos, the former key shareholder of Attica and then Chairman, sold his family's participation for €5.50 per share to Marfin Investment Group. The move was seen as a "family transition" decision and was interpreted to be an exit for the then 72-year-old investor. Alexander Panagopulos, CEO of Attica, resigned prior to this sale and founded his shipping company by the name Arista Shipping S.A.

ANEK–Superfast

On 8 June 2011, Superfast Ferries and ANEK Lines created a joint venture in the name of ANEK–Superfast to operate Piraeus – Heraklion and Patras – Igoumenitsa – Ancona routes using two passenger RO/RO vessels in the former route (the ANEK-owned "Olympic Champion" and the Superfast-owned "Superfast XII") and three in the latter route (the ANEK-owned "Hellenic Spirit" and the Superfast-owned "Superfast VI" and "Superfast XI").[3]

Controversy

On January 18, 2023, Lighthouse Reports, in collaboration with SRF, ARD, Al Jazeera, Il Domani and Solomon published a report claiming illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers from Italy to Greece using Superfast ferries. If those asylum seekers arrived to the ports of Venice, Ancona, Bari, and Brindisi, they were denied the opportunity to seek asylum and were pushed back using the Superfast ships. Immigrants were put into shower rooms and metal boxes with caged roofs, sometimes being handcuffed to metal shelves.[4]

Fleet

Current fleet

ShipFlagBuiltRouteGross tonnageLengthWidthPassengersVehiclesKnotsPhotos
Superfast IGreece2008Patras – Igoumenitsa – Corfu – Bari24,950 GT199 m26.6 m92870024.2
Superfast IIGreece2009Patras – Igoumenitsa – Corfu – Bari24,950 GT199 m26.6 m92870024.2
Superfast XIGreece2002Patras – Igoumenitsa – Corfu – Ancona30,902 GT200 m25 m1.63965329.3
AriadneGreece1996Patras – Igoumenitsa – Corfu – Ancona30,882 GT195 m27 m2.04556024,9
Asterion IICyprus1991Patras – Igoumenitsa – Venice31,804 GT192 m27 m72084021,5

Future fleet

ShipFlagBuiltTo Enter ServiceGross tonnageLengthWidthPassengersVehiclesKnotsPhotos
Olympic ChampionGreece2000February 202432,694 GT204 m25,8 m1,85067030
Lefka OriGreece1987February 202427,320 GT187.1 m27 m1,48878023

Past fleet

ShipYears in serviceGross tonnageCurrent status
MS Superfast I1995–200423,663 GTSince 2008 MS Skania for Unity Line
MS Superfast II1995–200323,663 GTSince 2006 MS Mega Express Four for Corsica Ferries
MS Superfast III1998–200229,067 GTSince 2002 MS Spirit of Tasmania II for TT-Line (Australia)
MS Superfast IV1998–200229,067 GTSince 2002 MS Spirit of Tasmania I for TT-Line (Australia)
MS Superfast V2001–201032,728 GTSince 2022 MS GNV Spirit for Grandi Navi Veloci
MS Superfast VI2001–201332,728 GTSince 2021 MS Europa Palace for Grimaldi Group
MS Superfast VII2001–200630,285 GTSince 2011 MS Stena Superfast VII for Stena Line
MS Superfast VIII2001–200630,285 GTSince 2011 MS Stena Superfast VIII for Stena Line
MS Superfast IX2002–200630,285 GTSince 2008 on charter as MV Atlantic Vision from Tallink to Marine Atlantic
MS Superfast X2002–200729,800 GTSince 2020 on charter as MS A. Nepita from Stena RoRo to Corsica Linea
MS Superfast XII2002–201830,902 GTSince 2018 MS Cruise Ausonia for Grimaldi Group

References

  1. ↑ E.Tsiliopoulos. "Greek shipping patriarch Pericles Panagopoulos, 83 passes". New Greek TV. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  2. ↑ "Norfolkline Will Continue Rosyth-Zeebrugge Service in Spring 2009". www.norfolkline.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Home". anek-superfast.gr.
  4. ↑ "Detained below deck". Lighthouse Reports. Retrieved 2023-01-31.

Further reading

  • Seville, Richard (2009). Mediterranean Ferries. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications. ISBN 9781871947984.
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