Ro/Ro Aegean Heaven

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Ro/Ro AEGEAN HEAVEN

Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Perama, 05/08/10 #9881

Ship	Aegean Heaven (2008)	Building Spec.	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Shimonoseki, Japan, 1999 – N°1093
Call Sign	9HKC9	IMO Number	9203605
GRT	23.503	DWT	5.618
Dimensions	199,5 x 24,5 x 6,91	Engines	2 NKK – SEMT Pielstick 18PC4-2B, 47660 kW
Speed	30 knots	Passengers	12
Beds	12 in 6 cabins	Cars	46 in lower hold
Lane Metres	2.700	Sister ships	Hokkaido Maru
Registry Port	Valletta	Flag	Malta
Former Names/Own.	Sun Flower Tomakomai – Blue Highway Line 1999-00 Sun Flower Tomakomai – Advanced Transport / Blue Line 2000-01 Sunflower Tomakomai – MOL Ferry – Shosen Mitsui 2001-08 Chartered to Japanese Government* 06/2002*
New Names/Owners	Chartered to Acciona* Trasmediterranea 07/2008-03/2010*
Line

The shipping world at the end of 1990’s was surely in the “speed age” it should not surprise that these years Japanese operators were considering order a pure ro/ro capable of a 30 knots cruise-speed. This ferry was launched in 1999 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in their Shimonoseki shipyard, some months before her sister, and named “Sun Flower Tomakomai” for the owner Blue Highway Line. The ferry was designed to operate a speed of 30 knots at 75% MCR, but during trials was capable of 32 knots, a never seen speed on a pure freighter. This performance allowed her to cut the travel time between Tokyo and Tomakomai (Hokkaido) by 10 hours, completing the 548 nautical miles between the two ports in 20 hours rather than the 30 required by the former sisters engaged on the service, the older “Tokyo Maru” and “Tomakomai Maru”. These two sisters finally left Japan for Greece, being bought by Express Sea Trailers of Kostas Agapitos, while the “Sun Flower Tomakomai” was awarded “Ship of the Year 2000” by Japanese Naval architects and “Nihon Keizai Shimbun Award”, the award assigned to the fastest ro/ro cargo ferry in the world. When her fuel consumption of 182 tons every 24 hours started to become a problem, the ferry was often laid up; on June 2002 was also chartered to the Japanese Government, which intended to use her as a floating prison for the “hooligans” during 2002 Football World Cup, by anchoring the “Sunflower Tomakomai” (which received the artist name of “Fuurigan Maru – Good Ship Hooligan” for the event) off Hokkaido ready to offer a pleasant “cruise” to Tokyo and from there to Ushiku prison for up to 630 hooligans. Anyway the English supporters, which were the designed “guests” of the “cruise” didn’t had a particular negative behaviour, so the Japanese taxpayers were able to save a lot of money in fuel. Finally the ship was laid up in Yokohama from March 2007 awaiting a new buyer: this was found on December of the same year for 27 millions Euro: it was Kostas Agapitos of Aegean Cargo, the same shipowner which buyed the former Tokyo – Tomakomai ferries in 1999 displaced by this one. The ferry started the trip to Greece as the “Aegean Heaven” and when arrived in Piraeus the afternoon of February 29^th, had still the MOL Ferry – Shosen Mitsui livery displayed on her hull. After few days in the Main Port, the “Aegean Heaven” left for the Neo Molo DEH of Keratsini, where the conversion work on her started; in the meantime, many speculations were made over her future employment: Adriatic Sea, Domestic services or, instead, Greece – Cyprus – Israel line. The final result of her conversion is a very smart ro/ro: the stern starboard ramp was moved to stern and takes to the upper garage, while the starboard bow ramp leads to the main garage; this allow, if the ferry is moored properly, to load independently the two decks at the same time; anyway there is a tilting ramp between the main garage and the upper one. The ship retains also the lower deck for 46 cars, but the most interesting modify carried in Greece was the conversion of the weather deck in order to carry cargo by strengthening all the superstructure and building a fixed ramp between the upper garage and the weather deck, completed by a tilting door to be closed at sea. At the final stages of conversion the colours of Aegean Cargo appeared on her funnel, but only for a while: they were replaced by the red/white of Acciona Trasmediterranea, which chartered her for Barcelona – Cadiz – Tanger – Canarias line for a year, with an option for extending the charter to a second year. On this service, the “Aegean Heaven” made a record, as being the first ship to connect Canarias and Spain in less than 24 hours. At the end of the charter, in March 2010, was laid up, first at Perama, later in Eleusis bay, failing to find a charter also because of her high fuel consumption. I’s a big pity, this because she could have been converted as a ro/pax, and also because she could have been very competitive on routes such as Adriatic services or Piraeus – Limassol line, which could have been covered in about 22 hours with an average speed of 24 knots and about 18 hours at 30 knots average speed, being able to offer three sailings a-week from each port.

SUN FLOWER LINE Ro/Ro Sunflower Tomakomai – official Sun Flower Line Photo #8747

Photo © George Giannakis, Piraeus, 29/02/08 #8414

Photo © Michele Lulurgas, Neo Molo DEH (Keratsini), 29/06/08 #8748

ACCIONA TRASMEDITERRANEA Ro/Ro Aegean Heaven – Photo © Apostolos Kaknis, Neo Molo DEH (Keratsini), 18/07/08 #8749

ACCIONA TRASMEDITERRANEA Ro/Ro Aegean Heaven – Photo © Apostolos Kaknis, Neo Molo DEH (Keratsini), 18/07/08 #8750

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