F/B Espresso Venezia

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f/b espresso venezia

Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Ancona port, 11/08/94 #17

Ship	Espresso Venezia (1990)	Building Spec.	Cantieri Navali Luigi Orlando, Leghorn, Italy, 1978 – N° 146
Call Sign	IBVO	IMO Number	7521663
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	395	Cars	320
Lane Metres	400	Sister Ships	Express Pegasus Grecia Riviera del Conero
Registry Port	Venice	Flag	Italian
Former Names/Own.	Espresso Ravenna – Adriatica Navigazione 1978-90 Chartered to Tirrenia* Navigazione 1978-90*
New Names/Own.	Venezia – Halkydon Shipping Agemar 2003à
Line

Last ferry of “espressi” ro/pax series and last but two of passenger ferries built at Orlando yards of Leghorn (the last two were the Corsica Sardinia Ferries sisters “Mega Express” and “Mega Express Two”, launched 23 years after, in 2001, just before the bankruptcy of the yard), started sailing in 1978, but not for her registered owner, Adriatica, but for Tirrenia di Navigazione, the parent company which chartered her. Mainly employed on Genoa – Arbatax service, Leghorn – Porto Torres and the service to Malta, even if she was employed on almost all Tirrenia routes before her redelivery to Adriatica, dated 1990. That year we can see a curious change of identità between the most recent sisters; this ferry leaves the name “Espresso Ravenna”, which was painted for 12 years on her hull, to bear the name “Espresso Venezia”, stoling it from the sister which was sold definitively to Tirrenia and renamed “Espresso Malta”. Deployed on Brindisi – Greece routes, she remained on that service until the delivery of the new “Laurana”. The replacement anyway was not a lucky choice: the newer ferry, was not only far slower and less manoeuvrable, but also with unsatisfactory and outdated interiors, all facts that would cause the decline of Adtiatica, passing from three ferries of Brindisi – Greece services in 1992 to the pair of 1996m then to a single ship service until 2000, when Adriatica ceased its Greece services. Coming back to our “Espresso Venezia”, was redeployed to Balkan services in 1992, mainly sailing out of Ancona to Croatia (Split and Dubrovnik sailing from Bari), Montenegro (Bar) and Albania (Durres). On summer 2003 was sold to Halkydon Shipping, which already owned the former “Espresso Grecia”, being deployed on Trieste – Durres line with the name “Venezia”, a great effort of fantasy made by the new owner. The sale of the ferry caused the usual Italian-style polemic, even if for a good reason; in fact the ferry was sold to Halkydon Shipping by private negotiation and not by a public auction, required for all the State-owned goods. I think that “Espresso Venezia” sale was another consistent loss for Adriatica fleet, this because of her good on-board services (it seems also swimming pool) and probably also because she’s from Leghorn and I’m from Florence, so we’re neighbours and I’m more disappointed!

TIRRENIA NAVIGAZIONE F/B Espresso Ravenna – Photo from Commis’s collection #6470

Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Ancona, 03/01/01 #18

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