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Founded | August 12, 1993 [1] |
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Headquarters | , Greece [1] |
Area served | Aegean Sea |
Services | Passenger transportation Freight transportation |
Parent | Attica Group |
Website | www.bluestarferries.com |
Blue Star Maritime S.A., operating under the brand name Blue Star Ferries, is a Greece-based company founded in 1993 [1] which provides ferry services between the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands.
Blue Star Ferries is the biggest ferry company in Greece, serving more than 20 destinations. Its fleet is composed of 12 modern ferries whose course speeds range from 23 to 30 knots. [2] Blue Star Ferries is a subsidiary of Attica Group along with Hellenic Seaways and Superfast Ferries.
Blue Star Ferries was founded in 1965 as Strintzis Lines by the Strintzis family from Lixouri, Kefalonia. The company was rebranded as Blue Ferries in 2000 [3] following Attica Enterprises' acquisition of a 48% stake in the company. [4] Blue Star Ferries is a sister company of Superfast Ferries, as both are part of Attica Group and have had partnership in some routes, such as Rosyth–Zeebrugge and presently Piraeus–Heraklion.
In 2000, the company took delivery of two roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ferries built at the Dutch shipyard Van der Giessen de Noord.
In 2006, Blue Star Maritime S.A. purchased the Dodecanese ferry company DANE Sea Lines.
Blue Star Ferries ordered two ferry-type ships at Daewoo Shipyards in South Korea. The first ferry, named Blue Star Delos, was delivered in the first 10 days of October 2011, and the second, Blue Star Patmos, in July 2012. Blue Star Delos is currently on the route Piraeus–Paros–Naxos–Ios–Thira, and Blue Star Patmos on the route Piraeus–Chios–Mytilini (Lesvos). [5]
Blue Star Ferries currently operates a fleet of 10 vessels. [6]
Ship | Flag | Built | Entered service | Gross tonnage | Length | Width | Passengers | Vehicles | Knots | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue Star 1 | ![]() | 2000 | 2000 | 29.415 GT | 176,1 m | 25,7 m | 1.890 | 780 | 28 | |
Blue Star 2 | ![]() | 2000 | 2000 | 29.415 GT | 176,1 m | 25,7 m | 1.854 | 780 | 28 | |
Blue Star Paros | ![]() | 2002 | 2002 | 10.438 GT | 124,2 m | 18,9 m | 1.474 | 240 | 24,4 | ![]() |
Blue Star Naxos | ![]() | 2002 | 2002 | 10.438 GT | 124,2 m | 18,9 m | 1.474 | 240 | 24,4 | |
Diagoras | ![]() | 1990 | 2006 | 9.834 GT | 141,5 m | 23 m | 1.462 | 274 | 21,1 | ![]() |
Blue Star Delos | ![]() | 2011 | 2011 | 17.550 GT | 145,9 m | 23,2 m | 2.400 | 430 | 25,5 | ![]() |
Blue Star Patmos | ![]() | 2012 | 2012 | 17.550 GT | 145,9 m | 23,2 m | 2.000 | 430 | 25.5 | |
Blue Star Mykonos | ![]() | 2005 | 2020 | 14.717 GT | 141 m | 21 m | 1.915 | 418 | 26.5 | ![]() |
Blue Star Chios | ![]() | 2007 | 2020 | 14.717 GT | 141 m | 21 m | 1.782 | 418 | 27.0 | ![]() |
Ship | Flag | Built | Entered service | Gross tonnage | Length | Width | Passengers | Vehicles | Knots | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue Carrier 1 | ![]() | 2000 | 2019 | 13.073 GT | 142,5 m | 23,5 m | 18 | 1.680 l.m. | 17,5 | ![]() |
Blue Carrier 2 | ![]() | 1997 | 2024 | 23.986 GT | 162,5 m | 25,6 m | 12 | 2.307 l.m. | 17,5 |
One of Blue Star Ferries' boats took the role of Princess Myrto on the Greek TV show Θα Σε Δω Στο Πλοίο (literally translated: I'll See You on the Ferry) broadcast by Alpha TV, a Greek channel, from 2000 to 2002. The majority of the filming for this series was on the boat itself except for on-location filming of the characters on holiday or on leave. This is still being broadcast in certain Greek-speaking countries, including Cyprus.
On September 5, 2023, a 36 year old passenger of Blue Horizon, owned by Blue Star Ferries, on his effort to catch the ship on time, fell overboard and drowned at the port of Piraeus. The company initially denied any responsibility claiming that the man slipped, but video footage that was released later showed clearly that he was pushed off the ship's hatch by crew members. At that time the ship was departing with her propellers full ahead and the man drowned due to heavy turbulence. The video showed that the ship continued her course and the crew neither offered help nor reported "man overboard" as should. After the video was released on social media the ship, who had continued her voyage to Crete, was ordered to return to the port where the captain and the responsible crew members were arrested by the port police. [7]
Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 5 car-passenger ferries, offering daily connections between Ancona and Bari in Italy, and Patras and Igoumenitsa in Greece. Together with Blue Star Ferries, Africa Morocco Link, ANEK Lines and Hellenic Seaways, it is a subsidiary company of Attica Group, which is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
ANEK Lines was one of the largest passenger shipping companies in Greece. It was founded in 1967 by numerous shareholders who were inhabitants of Crete. It operated passenger ferries, mainly on Piraeus-Crete and Adriatic Sea lines.
Minoan Lines is one of the largest passenger ferry companies in Europe, and one of the dominant passenger ferry companies in Greece, sailing between Piraeus and Crete and, in the Adriatic Sea, between Patras and various Italian ports. The company was founded in May 1972. Since 2008 Grimaldi's Compagnia di Navigazione SpA owns and controls 95.9 of the stock of Minoan Lines.
The HSC Champion Jet 1 is an 86m fast catamaran ferry operated by Seajets Ferries. She was until early 2015 owned by Condor Ferries and called HSC Condor Vitesse.
The HSC Champion Jet 2 is an 86 m (282 ft) fast catamaran ferry owned by Greek ferry firm Seajets. Between 1997 and early 2015, she was operated by Condor Ferries and ran between the UK and the Channel Islands as Condor Express.
The HSC Speedrunner Jet is a fast ferry owned by Seajets thαt operates between Sitia, Kasos, Karpathos, Chalki and Rhodos. She was built in 1999 at Fincantieri, Riva Trigoso, Italy, for Sea Containers as HSC SuperSeaCat Three. Under that name she sailed on Sea Container's services around the British Isles, as well as with its subsidiaries Silja Line and SuperSeaCat on the Baltic Sea.
The HSC Super Runner Jet is a fast ferry owned and operated by Seajets. She was built in 1999 at Fincantieri, Riva Trigoso, Italy, for Sea Containers, but entered service only in 2000 for Sea Container's subsidiary Silja Line. In 2006 she was transferred to another Sea Containers subsidiary, SuperSeaCat. In 2009 she began service with Aegean Speed Lines between Piraeus, Serifos, Sifnos, Milos, Kimolos, Folegandros and Sikinos, as well as Paros and Naxos. In 2016, she was sold to Golden Star Ferries and renamed it Super Runner. In June 2021 Golden Star Ferries sold to Seajets her ships Superferry II, Superspeed, Supercat and Super Runner. Seajets renamed it Super Runner Jet.
NEL LINES was established in 1972, as a company of popular base with shareholders the residents of Lesvos island and primary aim the purchase of a liner vessel for the Mitilini-Chios-Piraeus route. Since then, the company has expanded, serving most of the Aegean sea destinations.
Attica Holdings S.A. is an operator of international ferry services in Europe. Attica Group's operations include its subsidiaries Superfast Ferries, which began in 1995 with the launch of its first ships, Superfast I & Superfast II, and Blue Star Ferries which operates ferries in the Aegean Sea to the Greek islands. In June 2018 Attica Group increased its share in Hellenic Seaways to 98.83%. Hellenic Seaways is 100% controlled by the Attica Group following the acquisition of minority interest of 1.17% in July 2019. It also has a partnership in Africa Morocco Link which operates mainly in the Strait of Gibraltar. In December 2023 it absorbed 100% of ANEK Lines, rendering the operator number two in the number of passengers commuted in Europe.
Hellenic Seaways is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1984. Hellenic Seaways is a subsidiary of Attica Group along with Blue Star Ferries and Superfast Ferries.
Blue Star Chios, formerly Nissos Chios, is a high-speed ro-pax ferry of Blue Star Ferries, built, along with its sister ship Blue Star Mykonos, at Elefsis Shipyards. It was an old wish of Gerasimos Strintzis. In February 2006 the first pieces of the ship were loaded at Skararamangas and were transported to Elefsis Shipyards and on November 15, 2006, construction was launched at Elefsis Shipyards. It was delivered in June 2007 for Hellenic Seaways. Its construction was completed in a very short time.
MS Cruise Ausonia is a fast Ro-Pax jumbo ferry owned by the Grimaldi Lines and sails on the Livorno-Palermo route. She was built in 2002 for Superfast Ferries as MS Superfast XII by a shipyard in Lübeck, Germany, and is the last vessel of 12. She is a sister ship of Superfast XI.
Blue Star Mykonos is a ferry owned by Blue Star Ferries that currently operates most commonly on the Piraeus-Syros-Mykonos-Samos-Chios-Mytilene-Kavala route. It is driven by four Wartsila 12V38 main diesel engines and has an operating speed of 25 knots, making it faster than all other big ferries currently serving the Cyclades Islands and North Aegean. The ferry is a sister ship to Blue Star Chios.
The MV Al Salmy 4 was a former train ferry, converted to RO-RO/Passenger ferry.
MV Fundy Rose is a RORO passenger ship owned by the Government of Canada, which entered service with Bay Ferries in 2015 between Saint John, New Brunswick, and Digby, Nova Scotia, replacing the MV Princess of Acadia. The vessel was formerly owned by Attica Group based in Athens, Greece, and was operated under the name Blue Star Ithaki by their subsidiary company Blue Star Ferries under the Greek flag.
The HSC Santorini Palace, built as Highspeed 5, later Highspeed 7, for Hellenic Seaways, is an 85m high speed catamaran owned by Minoan Lines. In January 2024 she was chartered to Seajets.
Seajets is a Greek/Cypriot ferry company operating passenger and freight ferry services in the Aegean Sea.
Golden Star Ferries is a Greek ferry company operating from the Greek mainland to the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. Golden Star Ferries was founded in 2011 by Andriot brothers Giorgos and Dimitris Stephanou, who also own the Bright Navigation shipping freight company.
Blue Star 1 is a Greek ferry, which is owned by Blue Star Ferries. She is a motor Ro-Ro/Passenger ferryboat, built in 2000 by Van der Giessen de Noord shipward in Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands. She is a sistership to Blue Star 2. She holds a total of 1600 passengers and 640 vehicles and has 430 beds in 161 cabins for passengers. She has four MAN B&W 8L58 / 64 diesel engines, with combined power of 44,480 kW and reaches speeds of up to 27 knots.
The MS Aqua Jewel is a Greek passenger car ferry, which is part of the fleet of SeaJets Ferries. She was built in 2003 in Perama, Attica and was put into service at SeaJets in 2017. The ship initially belonged to the shipowner Georgios Perogiannakis and in 2010 she was chartered by the Shipping Company of Lesvos - NEL Lines. Since 2017, she belongs to SeaJets, which occasionally charters her to Atlanticoline. At the time of her construction, the Aqua Jewel was the largest passenger ferry ever built in Greece, with a length of 108 meters. She no longer holds this record, since the construction of Hellenic Seaways' 141-meter -long Nissos Mykonos. The Aqua Jewel was intended as a mega-yacht named Nissilios, while the initial cost was about 25,000,000 US dollars. The Aqua Jewel has a maximum speed of 18.5 knots and a cruising (service) speed of 0.5 knots lower than the maximum. Aqua Jewel facilities include two bars, a hospital and a helipad. On the 6th of February 2024 she was accidentally beached while exiting the port of Diakoftiou in Kythera.