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F/B LEROS

Dressed with Grand Pavois for Agios Nikolaos holiday – Photo © Antonios Lazaris #11760

 

Ship

Leros (1997)

ΛΕΡΟΣ

Building Spec.

Italcantieri S.p.A.,

Castellammare di Stabia, Italy, 1968 – N° C648

Call Sign

SXIH

IMO Number

6813485

GRT

5.477

DWT

1.965

Dimensions

126,35 x 19,21 x 5,47

Engines

2 Wärtsilä 12V32, 8.742 kW

Speed

18 knots

Passengers

1.200

Beds

362

Cars

300

Lane Metres

420

Sister ships

Al Salam Taba I (scrapped in 2004)

Saudi Moon II (sunk in 1982)

Sindibad I (sunk in 1992)

The Calypso (scrapped in 2013)

Registry Port

Piraeus

Flag

Greece

Former Names/Own.

Canguro Bruno – Traghetti Sardi 1968-10/1982

Chartered to Trasmediterranea 1978

Yum – Fagez 10/1982-12/1988

Ionian Fantasy – Strintzis Lines 12/1988-1991

Chartered to Allways Lines 1989

Ionian SeaStrintzis Lines 1991-05/1993

Bihar – Co.Tu.Nav. Tunisia Ferries 05/1993-10/1993 (charter)

Ionian Sea – Strintzis Lines 10/1993-1994

Dimitra – Aktoploiki Maritime/D.A.N.E. (50% owned by each shipowner) 1995-97

Operated by G.A. Ferries 1995-1996

New Names/Owners

Scrapped at Aliaga (Turkey) in March 2001 as “Leros

Line

 

She was built in 1968 by  Fincantieri for Traghetti Sardi, which put her on Sardinia trade. First sold to Fagez, an Arab company which operated the line Suez - Jeddah, the ship was able to survive her Red Sea days without sinking, a very rare exploit. At the end of 1988 was purchased by Strintzis Lines, renamed “Ionian Fantasy” and chartered for 1989 season to Allways Lines, then was deployed on Strintzis’s Adriatic services until 1993, when she was chartered to Co.Tu.Nav. as their “Bihar”. At the end of the charter was renamed again “Ionian Sea”, a name she took first between 1991 and 1993, sailing on a new Aegean route from Piraeus to Cyclades and Dodecanese. At the end of 1994 was sold to Aktoploiki Maritime (G.A. Ferries) and Dane Sea Line (50% each one), entered in service in 1995 for G.A. Ferries with the name “Dimitra”, linking Piraeus and Rhodes via Syros, Paros, Naxos, Patmos, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos, Nissiros, Tilos, Symi and sometimes also Kastelorizo. In 1997 Dane Sea Line bought the Agoudimos stake in the ship, which continued to sail on the same services as “Dimitra”, but wearing DANE livery and being named “Leros”, continuing the tradition to name the ships after Dodecanese islands; the ferry anyway, even entirely owned by DANE, continued to have Piraeus as her homeport, instead of the most common “Rhodes” for Dane Sea Line vessels. On 14/12/98, when in Piraeus laid up for repairs, a fire broke out on the ship, it seems due to a candle which was burning in a crew cabin: there were no casualties, but the ferry was badly damaged by the fire, also because, due to the works carried on the ferry, the fire extinguishing system was not working; the “Leros” was finally scrapped in 2001. It’s curious to notice how much the destiny played with the five “Canguro” sisters: actually only one of these is still sailing, after being converted to a cruise-ship, while only another one reached the scrapyard with her own power; we know about the fire of the “Leros”, then the last two sisters sank in the “sea cemetery” of the world, the Red Sea. It’s also very interesting to notice that every ferry of this family sailed in the Red Sea.

 

34

TRAGHETTI SARDI F/B Canguro Bruno, photo from FINCANTIERI website

 

SOC. NAV. TRAGHETTO FB Canguro Azzurro

F/B Canguro Azzurro; sister ship of Canguro Bruno

 

STRINTZIS LINES FB Ionian Fantasy 01_Efoplistis

ALLWAYS LINES F/B Ionian Fantasy - photo by courtesy of EFOPLISTIS magazine

 

ALLWAYS LINES F/B Ionian Fantasy – Photo © Aris Bilalis, Piraeus, 1989 #11766

 

STRINTZIS LINES LINES F/B Ionian Sea – Photo © Antonios Molos, Patras, 1993 #11763

 

STRINTZIS LINES LINES F/B Ionian Sea – Photo © Antonios Molos, Piraeus, 1994 #11764

 

STRINTZIS LINES FB Ionian Sea

STRINTZIS LINES F/B Ionian Sea – Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Piraeus, 02/09/94 #1109

 

G.A. FERRIES F/B Dimitra – Photo © Pavlos Protopapas, Piraeus, April 1996 #3780

 

GA FERRIES FB Dimitra 1996

G.A. FERRIES F/B Dimitra – Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Piraeus Sea, 28/06/96 #422

 

DANE SEA LINE FB Leros

Photo from website DANE SEA LINE

 

Photo © Antonios Lazaris, Astypalea, September 1996 #11759

 

Photo © Antonios Lazaris, Astypalea #8212

 

DANE SEA LINE FB Leros_after_fire

DANE SEA LINE F/B Leros laid up in Eleusis after fire, foto © Pieter Inpijn

 

 

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