F/B Penelope A - Piraeus

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F/B PENELOPE A

Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Rafina, 11/08/2010 #10103

Ship	Penelope A (1992/2004) ΠΗΝΕΛΟΠΗ A	Building Spec.	Arsenal National de la Marine, Brest, France, 1972 – N° 2
Call Sign	SZNZ	IMO Number	7205075
GRT	5.590	DWT	1.014
Dimensions	117,5 x 19,8 x 4	Engines	2 De Bretagne – Pielstick 16PC2V, 11.030 kW
Speed	19,5 knots	Passengers	1.400
Beds	118	Cars	256
Lane Metres	450	Sister ships	Agios Georgios Apollon (Scrapped in 2010)
Registry Port	Piraeus	Flag	Greek
Former Names/Own.	Horsa – Sealink UK (British Railways) 1972-84 Horsa – Sealink British Ferries 1984-90 Stena Horsa – Sealink Stena Line 1990-92 Penelope A – Agoudimos Lines 1992-99 Express Penelope – Minoan Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 2000-02 Express Penelope – Hellas Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 2002-04
New Names/Owners
Line	Laid up

Second one of three sister ships, she started her career in 1972 as “Horsa” for Sealink. Named after the brother of King Hengist, the warrior Horsa which died in the battle of V sec. A.C. of Anglo-Saxons serving King Vortigern in the conquer of Great Britain, she was the bigger ferry in the Channel at the time of her delivery to British Railways. She entered service on Folkestone – Boulogne line to inaugurate the car ferry services from the Kent port after it had received appropriate link-spans for car ferries, some 23 years after Dover, the main Kent port, received it. Anyway the ship served also Calais port from Folkestone and sailed also from Dover to Calais, Boulogne, Dunkirk and Oostend. The ship name was later repainted in bigger characters, then, in 1984, British Railways sold its ferry operations to Seacontainers; this was accompanied by a new white livery with a blue funnel, painted with Master gallons and a light-blue Sealink mark on the hull; a year later, in 1985, the Sealink mark was updated to “Sealink British Ferries”, in order to characterize the new Seacontainers ownership after the privatization. In 1990 Seacontainers sells Sealink British Ferries to Stena Line, which renames the company “Sealink Stena Line” and the present ferry as “Stena Horsa”; on 1990 Summer the “Stena Horsa”, which was staby on Folkestone – Boulogne line from the privatization of 1984, was sent to Irish Sea, linking Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire, being replaced at Folkestone by the “St. Anselm”. The “Stena Horsa” spent all 1991 on her traditional route; Stena Line anyway decided to close down the Folkestone service at the end of the year, so the “Stena Horsa” left Folkestone for the last time on December 31^st, 1991, having onboard also a special passenger, the Greek shipowner Agoudimos. The owner of Agoudimos Lines was searching a bigger ship for its Rafina – Cyclades line, and he was well impressed by the “Stena Horsa”, so he decided to buy her, as it is told in John May’s excellent book “Greek Ferries” of 1999. The ferry came to Greece in February 1992 as the “Penelope A”, receiving only a minor refit from her appearance on Channel days, by the extension to the stern of deck A and deck B (respectively deck 5 and deck 6 in Greece), anyway maintaining an elegant stern line. Deployed on Rafina – Andros – Tinos – Mykonos on Summer 1992, she stayed on that line till the end of 1999, serving also Paros, Naxos, Schinoussa, Koufonissia, Heraklia and Amorgos on her Thursday departure from Rafina; later purchased by Minoan Flying Dolphins, was renamed “Express Penelope” and continued the same service from Rafina. After four years of service, the board of Hellas Flying Dolphins, the new company name of Minoan Flying Dolphins, decided to sell some old ships, so Agoudimos bought back this ferry and gave her another time the name of “Penelope A”, maintaining the same line performed in the last 12 years. The decision of the sale by H.F.D. was very good…for Agoudimos! In fact, the “Penelope A” on 2004 summer was the most successful vessel leaving from Rafina, both for her cheapness comparing their fares with those of the ferries leaving from Piraeus and also for her very good internal spaces and her exterior which, thanking God, lacks of these massive and awful superstructures which frequently are added on her once-time Sealink fleet mates after their arrival in Greece. On December 5^th, 2004, while the ferry was departing from Rafina to her usual destinations of Andros, Tinos and Mykonos, was hit by the “Evia Star”, arriving from Marmari, receiving little damage, but being prevented to sail; luckily no one of the 687 passengers was hurt. ADAC Ferry test 2005 reported a very bad vote for “Penelope A”, but I wasn’t able to understand if the test refers to this ship or to the other “Penelope A” of the company. On July 24^th, 2006, the ferry had another little accident, without any injury for the passengers, colliding with Andros pier arriving from Tinos and forcing her 700 passengers to continue the trip to Rafina on the “Superferry II”. On October of the same year, she was equipped with safety doors in her garage. The life of this ferry was uneventful until the crisis which hit hard the owners, which became worse and worse, and during 2013 this ferry was the only one who operated under Agoudimos Lines colours. After some months of lay-up, the “Penelope A” entered service in May, for the Greek Easter, operating out of Rafina for four consecutive days each week, starting on Thursday. This lasted until mid of June, when the crew obtained the arrest of the ferry due to unpaid wages. Even if there were strong rumours about the ferry, surprisingly she was back in service for the summer, starting again her sailings on July 23^rd, even if she was initially announced for July 15^th. This was the swansong for the vessel: on September 4^th, the “Penelope A” was arrested again by the crew, which remained on board, claiming for their unpaid wages, and the ferry was finally abandoned. On January 2014 the crew finally left the vessel, which started to show the signs of the abandonment, and the Rafina Port Authority started the procedures to remove the ferry from the port. On June 17^th, 2014, the “Penelope A” left Rafina for the last time, being towed to Elefsina by the tug “Christos XIII”, and since then is laid up there, awaiting the last destination.