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ARKADIA LINES
Arkadia Lines
Arkadia Lines was
established in 1989 by the Greek shipowner Moulopoulos, which characterizes also ferry's funnels with
the first letter of his surname. The first two vessels bought were the
"Provence", renamed "Poseidon Express" and the "Dimitrios Express", former "Saint Colum I",
both intended to be used on Piraeus - Paros - Naxos - Ios
- Santorini, but only the first was effectively
deployed there; the"Dimitrios Express"
started linking Patras, Igoumenitsa,
Corfu and Bari, leaving the Cycladic routes to two vessels acquired from Elleniki Aktoploia, the
"Paros" and the "Naxos". A third vessel from Elleniki Aktoploia, the "Samaina", continued sailing from Piraeus to Syros, Tinos,
Mykonos, Ikaria and Samos, as it was in her "previous life". In the
same year also Afroessa Lines merger in Arkadia Lines, bringing into the company the vessels “Paloma” and “Silver Paloma” and
their Piraeus – Rhodes – Limassol – Haifa line; Arkadia Lines was then composed by seven ferries operating
on different routes. In 1992 the “Paloma” was
redeployed on Greece – Italy line, along the “Dimitrios
Express”, while the “Paros” was renamed “Ioannis
Express”; then the following year the Arkadia fleet
was reduced from seven to five ferries, after the sale to China of the “Naxos”
and the “Paloma”. In 1993 the “Dimitrios
Express” was renamed “Kadia Express” and moved to
Greece – Cyprus – Israel line, but in 1994 her previous name was restored and
was sent again in Adriatic sea, this time operating only between Igoumenitsa and Bari with the “Silver Paloma”,
which meant the closure of Piraeus – Rhodes – Limassol
– Haifa line. The 1996 was an infamous year for Arkadia Lines; the “Ioannis Express”
was sold, the “Poseidon Express” in April hit a reef at Paros, which caused
flooding and later the capsizing of the ferry, which was declared a Total
Constructive Loss; the ferry was replaced on Cyclades route by the “Dimitrios Express”, renamed “Poseidon Express 2”, while the
“Silver Paloma”, which was renamed “Megistanas” in 1995 after having been reflagged, was left
laid up, abandoning the Bari – Igoumenitsa service.
The “Samaina” finally ramed
the Greek military vessel “Kostakos”, which sank
causing four deaths among the crew, and was arrested due to the investigation
in the collision. The “Poseidon Express 2” remained the only ship serving Arkadia Lines routes in 1998 and 1999, then was sold to
Minoan Flying Dolphins: this was the end of Arkadia
Lines. The remaining two laid-up vessels, the “megistanas”
and the “Samaina” were sold for scrap on July 2000.
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Arkadia Lines