F/B Espresso Venezia

f/b espresso venezia

Photo © Stefanos Antoniadis, Igoumenitsa #1614

Ship	Espresso Venezia (1977)	Building Spec.	Cantieri Navali Luigi Orlando, Leghorn, Italy, 1977 – N° 145
Call Sign		IMO Number	7521651
GRT	8.069	DWT	2.250
Dimensions	125,7 x 18,5 x 5,21	Engines	2 Fiat – GMT 12c, 11.033 kW
Speed	21 knots	Passengers	953
Beds	335	Cars	320
Lane Metres	400	Sister Ships	Grecia Riviera del Conero Venezia
Registry Port	Venice	Flag	Italian
Former Names/Own.	Chartered to Tirrenia* Navigazione 1977-89*
New Names/Own.	Espresso Malta – Tirrenia Navigazione 1990-94 Pegasus – Ventouris Ferries 1994-99 Express Dionysos – Minoan Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 2000-02 Express Pegasus – Hellas Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 2002-05 Express Pegasus – Hellenic Seaways 2005à
Line

The ferry is the third of “Espressi” ro/pax family built at Orlando yards of Leghorn, a family divided into two subseries, the first of 1973/74, the second of years 1977/78. Probably intended to be built for Trans Tirreno Express, the most important customer of Leghorn-based shipbuilders, they were taken over by Adriatica, which was satisfacted by the earlier sisters, planning to use the two new sisters on Middle East services. Anyway the political situation in Middle East led Adriatica to charter the newer pair of sisters to the “cousins” of Tirrenia, a company which never end sto need ferries. Probably the charter was intended to be brief, being the ferry with full Adriatica colurs except for the funnel, painted in Tirrenia’s style: this hybrid livery lastex for all the charter period of the ferry, from 1977 to 1989, twelve years where the ferry was deployed almost everywhere in the Thyrrenian routes of the Italian State-owned company, particularly the Leghorn – Porto Torres, the Genoa – Arbatax and the Naples – Reggio Calabria – Catania – Syracuse – Malta. In 1989 Tirrenia decides to redelivery one of the chartered ferries to Adriatica, the “Espresso Venezia”, which was soon deployed on Brindisi – Corfu – Igoumenitsa line; she started the service with the orange-painted tunnel with the red and wthite stripes on the top, but without the distintive St. Mark’s Lion, which never appeared on this ship. In fact, the ferry was sold to Tirrenia in 1990, which renames her as “Espresso Malta” for Malta services; in the meantime the Naples-based company sent back the fourth “Espresso” sister to Adriatica. The ferry remained under Tirrenia colours until 1994; that year was sold to Ventouris Ferries, which deployed her as the “Pegasus” between Italy and Greece and, from 1996, sailing out of Piraeus to Western Cyclades. At the end of 1999 was sold to Minoan Flying Dolphins, which started operating her from 2000 under Hellas Ferries trademark and the name “Express Dionisos”. The ferry remained on its service until September 2004, when she was moved to cover the Piraeus – Syros – Mykonos – Ikaria – Samos line. In the meantime, was renamed “Express Pegasus” (2002) and ion 2005 she was repainted with the colours and trademarks of Hellenic Seaways, the new brand of Minoan Flying Dolphins/Hellas Ferries company.