F/B Express Aphrodite

Photo © Gunnar Menzer

Ship	Express Aphrodite (1997) ΕΞΠΡΕΣ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ	Building Spec.	Aalborg Værft A/S, Aalborg, Denmark, 1977 – N° 214
Call Sign	SVXT	IMO Number	7507019
GRT	7.836	DWT	1.945
Dimensions	129,9 x 20,6 x 4,7	Engines	2 Stork Werkspoor 16T410, 13.280 kW
Speed	19,5 knots	Passengers	1.700
Beds	60 in 30 cabins	Cars	336
Lane Metres	450	Sister ships
Registry Port	Piraeus	Flag	Greek
Former Names/Own.	St. Columba – British Railways / Sealink 1977-84 St. Columba – Sealink British Ferries 1984-90 St. Columba – Sealink Stena Line 1990-91 Stena Hibernia – Sealink Stena Line 1991-96 Stena Adventurer – Stena Line 1996-97
New Names/Owners	Express Aphrodite – Minoan Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 1999-02 Express Aphrodite – Hellas Flying Dolphins / Hellas Ferries 2002-04 Express Aphrodite – Hellenic Seaways 2005-07 Masarrah – Namma Lines 2007à
Line

In the second half of the Seventies, the Aalborg yards received many orders from British shipowners; after the four sisters built for Townsend Thorese, the Aalborg Værft started building a ferry for the public shipping company British Railways Sealink, which intended to delpy her on Irish Sea routes. The ferry was delivered to the owner on April 2^nd, 1977, and started serving the Holyhead – Dun Laoghaire line just a month after the delivery, remaining on that line for 20 years: from 1977 to 1984 under British Rail Sealink colours, from 1985 to 1990 with the livery of Sealink British Ferries, owned by Seacontainers, from 1991 to 1997 for Stena Line as their “Stena Hibernia” until 1995 and then as the “Stena Adventure”. On October 1996 the ferry was disposed up for sale, a surprisingly decision, considering that the ferry was repainted in Stena Line’s new colours and heavily refurbished by Lloyd Werft of Bremerhaven just some months before. Delivered in 1977 to Sealink for the service Holyhead - Dun Laoghaire, she remained in the company also after the agreements with Seacontainers (Sealink British Ferries), and with Stena Line. Renamed “Stena Hibernia”, she mantained her original colours till 1996, when she was rebuilt in Germany for Stena Line and repainted in Stena colours. She was bought on May 1997 by Agapitos Express Ferries, which aimed to enter the Piraeus – Syros – Tinos – Mykonos trade; this line lacked a ferry since the arrest of “Georgios Express”, owned by the bankrupt Ventouris Sea Lines, and probably Agapitos Express Ferries intended also to compete with the cousins of Agapitos Lines on a line where these were a strong presence, as Agapitos Lines did against Agapitos Express Ferries competing on Piraeus – Paros – Naxos – Ios – Santorini line, a kingdom of Kostas Agapitos’s company. The new “Express Aphrodite” proved to be very successful, also because of her good interiors, which retained also the Irish Pub as it was on Stena Line periods. In November 1999 was acquired by Minoan Flying Dolpins - Hellas Ferries, mantaining the name “Express Aphrodite”; she was operated on various routes and was also part of Hellenic Seaways’s fleet on 2005 and 2006 seasons, before being sold on December 2006 to Namma Lines, one of the most important operators of Red Sea, to operate since 2007 between Suez and Jeddah as the “Masarrah”.