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F/B EXPRESS OLYMPIA
Photo © George Giannakis #6149
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Ship |
Express
Olympia (1990) ΕΞΠΡΕΣ
ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ |
Building Spec. |
Jos
L. Meyer Werft, Papenburg Ems, Germany, 1973 – N°570 |
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Call Sign |
SXMU |
IMO Number |
7310258 |
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GRT |
4.477 |
DWT |
1.982 |
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Dimensions |
109,15
x 17,25 x 4,7 |
Engines |
2
Crossley – Pielstick
12PC2VMK5, 8.531 kW |
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Speed |
19,5
knots |
Passengers |
1.500 |
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Beds |
298
in 70 cabins |
Cars |
300 |
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Lane Metres |
414 |
Sister ships |
Ajman 1 (scrapped in 2004) Apollo Boughaz Fagr (scrapped in 2002) Puerto Vallarta (scrapped in 2010) Rahal Sinaloa Star (scrapped in
2008) St. Damian |
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Registry Port |
Piraeus |
Flag |
Greek |
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Former Names/Own. |
Viking 4 – Rederi AB Sally
(Viking Line) 1973-08/1980 Earl Granville – William & Glynn Industrial Leasing Ltd 08/1980-07/1984 Chartered to Sealink UK 08/1980-07/1984 Earl Granville – Sealink British Ferries 07/1984-05/1990 Earl Granville – Seacontainers
05/1990-11/1990 |
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New Names/Owners |
Express Olympia – Agapitos Express Ferries 1992-11/1999 Express Olympia – Minoan Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 11/1999-12/2001 Express Olympia – Hellas Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 12/2001-01/2005 Express Olympia – Hellenic Seaways 01/2005-06/2005 Scrapped at Alang (India)
in June 2005 as “Express O” |
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Line |
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Delivered to Viking Line on 16 June 1973
for the service Stockholm - Mariehamn (Aland) - Turku, is one of eight
sister-ships built at Meyer yards of Papenburg,
Germany. Five of these sisters were painted under Viking Line’s livery, a
consortium formed by Finnish and Swedish shipowners to link these nations;
among these vessels three were built for the Aland-based Rederi
AB Sally and two for the Swedish Rederi AB Slite; the remaining three sisters were instead delivered
to Mexican interests. This ferry was the sixth of eight sisters built, the last
sister for both Viking Line and Redery AB Sally;
another interesting tale is that the only Viking Line consortium member which
hadn’t ordered any vessel from Meyer Werft, the
Finnish SF Line AB, is the only one which didn’t declared bankruptcy and which
is nowadays the only shipowner behind Viking Line’s marks. Two days after her
first commercial sailing, on July 22nd, 1973, she collided with the
dock at Stockholm, the first of a long serie of
accidents which occurred throughout the ferry’s live, without reporting serious
damages. In 1979 was moved to Kapellskar - Mariehamn
- Nadendal service. In 1980 was sold to a British company, which chartered the ferry to the
State-Owned British Rail – Sealink for ten years,
when she was intended to serve Guernsey and Jersey sailing from Portsmouth. Before entering in service for the British
company, the ferry was heavily refitted at Schichau Seebeckwerft yards of Bremerhaven: the main engines Smit – Bolnes V314HDK were replaced by two new Crossley – Pielstick engines, two fins AEG Denny Brown were fitted and
also some new internal arrangements were made: the Cafeteria and some cabins
were removed in order to fit some new rest seats. The 1981 is surely the “anno horribilis” of the ferry: on June 10th
she had a black-out, on June 22nd had a fire in engine room, on July
20th she hit the dock in Saint Helier, on September 9th
many cars carried on garage deck were damaged due to a storm. In 1984 the
company was bought by Seacontainers, which changed
the company name to “Sealink British Ferries”; the
“Earl Granville” was again refitted, this time only internally, at Aalborg Vaerft in Denmark, under the “Bateau de
luxe” standards: the cabins and the cafeteria were again fitted in their
original place, and the restaurant got a new furnishing. Back again on Channel Islands’s traffic, she reached also Cherbourg port, in
France, where she collided with the breakwater on August 19th, 1989,
causing a cut of 14 metres in the hull. Between 1984 and 1990 she served for
short spells also Harwich – Hoek Van Holland line, between Great Britain and
Holland, and Liverpool – Dun Laoghaire plus Stanraer
– Larne between Great Britain and Ireland. Being the ferry redundant for the
company, in 1989 Mercandia A/S was very close to her
purchase, but the companies didn’t came to an agreement; the ferry remained in
British ownership until December 1990, when she was bought by Agapitos Bros for
the Piraeus – Syros – Paros – Naxos – Ios – Santorini
– Anafi line. Taken over by Agapitos Express Ferries in 1992, she remained on
the same service till November 1999, when she was acquired by Minoan Flying
Dolphins for the Piraeus - Paros - Naxos - Ikaria - Fourni
- Samos line. On September 2004 Hellas Ferries decided to sell the ferry, which
was laid up at the end of Summer season; she was sold for scrap in June 2005,
when the company had already changed its name to “Hellenic Seaways”, heading to
Alang under the name “Express O”.
Photo Gallery
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Viking Line |
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Official Postcard |
Pieter Inpijn’s collection |
VIKING
LINE – Viking 4 (1973-1980)
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Sealink
British Railways |
Portsmouth, June 1984 |
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Official Postcard |
Brian Fisher |
SEALINK
BRITISH RAILWAYS – Earl Granville (1980-1984)
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Portsmouth, April 1987 |
Portsmouth, April 1988 |
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Brian Fisher |
Tony Garner |
SEALINK
BRITISH FERRIES / SEACONTAINERS – Earl Granville (1984-1990)
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British Ferries |
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Postcard |
BRITISH
FERRIES / SEACONTAINERS – Earl Granville (1990)
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Paros, September 1994 |
01/07/1996 |
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Douglas Cromby |
Carsten Dettmer |
AGAPITOS
EXPRESS FERRIES – Express Olympia (1994-1999)
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Official postcard |
Piraeus, June 2000 |
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M.F.D. Hellas Ferries |
Aleksi Lindström |
MINOAN
FLYING DOLPHINS / HELLAS FERRIES – Express Olympia (2000-2002)
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Vathi, 28/07/2004 |
Vathi, 28/07/2004 |
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Carsten Dettmer |
Carsten Dettmer |
HELLAS
FLYING DOLPHINS / HELLAS FERRIES – Express Olympia (2002-2005)