F/B Ionian King - Kingstown

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F/B IONIAN KING

Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Patras, 11/11/06 #4944

Ship	Ionian King (2004)	Building Spec.	Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries (I.H.I.), Tokyo, Japan, 1991 – N° 3012
Call Sign	? (2004-06/2005) C4CJ2 (06/2005-05/2011) 3FVK8 (06/2011) 5BJK3 (06/2011à)	IMO Number	9006629
GRT	30.413	DWT	7.689
Dimensions	192,90 x 29,40 x 6,75	Engines	2 Diesel United-Pielstick 8PC40L570, 17.480 kW
Speed	21,8 knots	Passengers	2.000
Beds	572	Cars	452
Lane Metres	1.860	Sister ships	Ferry Azalea Ferry Shirakaba Ionian Queen
Registry Port	Kingstown (2004-06/2005) Limassol (06/2005-05/2011) Panama (06/2011) Limassol (06/2011à)	Flag	St. Vincent & Grenadines (2004-06/2005) Cipro (06/2005-05/2011) Panama (06/2011) Cipro (06/2011à)
Former Names/Own.	Ferry Lavender – Shin Nihonkai Ferry 1991-2004
New Names/Owners	Ionian King – Huis Ten Bosch 04/2011-10/2011 Chartered to Agoudimos* Lines 04/2011-09/2011* Ocean Rose – Huis Ten Bosch 10/2011-12/2013 Ocean Grand – Huis Ten Bosch 12/2013à
Line

Second vessel of the splendid four-sisters series delivered by I.H.I., started the Maizuru (Honshu) – Otaru (Hokkaido) service in 1991, saling along with the sister “New Akashia”, and the “Ferry Lilac”, actually employed between the Philippines. Was bought by Agoudimos Lines in Novembre 2004; she is the second Japanese ferry bought by the Greek company during its life (the first one was the “Ionian Sky”, which was bought some months earlier), but was the first which was brought in Greece directly by this company. As the biggest Japanese ferry ever arrived in Greece, she started her refitting work at Perama soon after her arrival in Greece, on January 2005, being redelivered to the company at the end of August. The differences between her and the sister “Ionian Queen” are noticeable starting from garage decks: also on this ferry was put a stern starboard ramp which leads directly to the upper trailer deck; this was necessary because the two I.H.I. sisters originally hadn’t any ramp between the two 4,20m height garages. The access to the upper garage was allowed by two doors on port and starboard side, which, differently from what was done on “Ionian Queen”, weren’t welded. Another difference with the “Ionian Queen” is that on the starboard ramp wasn’t built the passenger entrance, a work which, anyway, seems to be stated for her first maintenance stop. Above the garages, the interior spaces have basically the same layout of the sister; anyway the “Ionian Queen” has much more modern interiors while the “Ionian King” instead has a more classic and luxurious design. It is difficult to say what is the best one among these ferries: my opinion is that anyone should consider it according to his own tastes, being far better the “Queen” among the “King” on some features and viceversa. The first months of Agoudimos Lines’s service from Bari are rumoured to be very successful, basically because of the very competitive prices on cargo traffic, causing some trouble to the other operator on that line, Attica Enterprises’s subsidiary Blue Star Ferries. The competition anyway later pushed in the direction of Blue Star Ferries, so from 2008 the “Ionian King” was matched by her fleetmate “Ionian Sky”, and, later, remained the only ferry to operate from Bari, sailing three times a-week to Igoumenitsa and Patras and once to Corfu – Igoumenitsa; from 2010 was on sales lists due to increasing difficulties of the company, and, even if there were speculations about an interest in her of Nel Lines, she was sold to a Japanese company which owns the amusement park “Huis Ten Bosch”, in Nagasaki, which intend to use her between Nagasaki and Shanghai, China. The delivery was postponed due to the earthquake happened in Japan and the ferry was chartered to Agoudimos Lines for 2011 Summer, sailing from Brindisi to Corfu, Igoumenitsa, Cephalonia and Zakynthos. On March 2011 was used in the evacuation of foreign workers from Libya. At the end of Summer season she headed for Sasebo, Japan, in order to be prepared at Sasebo Heavy Industries for her new Shanghai – Nagasaki ferry service. This new service didn’t last for long, and on December 2013 the ferry was renamed “Ocean Grand” and relocated at Singapore, where she serves as a casino ship.