Champion Jet 2 was built in 1996 by Incat in Hobart, Australia originally for use by Condor Ferries then joint owned by Commodore Shipping of Guernsey and Holyman. The vessel known then as Condor Express, was the first of a series of four 86 metre catamarans.
Condor Express arrived in her home waters from her builders in January 1997 and was opened to the public in Poole before taking up service between Weymouth and the Channel Islands later that month replacing Condor 12. On 1 March 1997, Condor Express opened the Poole-Channel Islands service for Condor Ferries after operating what was planned to be the last sailing from Weymouth for the company the day before. Condor Express' first year in service was marred by a series of technical problems resulting in delays and cancellation of what was now the only car and passenger ferry service to the Channel Islands. As a result of these problems the governments of Guernsey and Jersey put the licence to operate the service to England out to tender. Condor Express' engines were subsequently modified along with those of her sister ships and she provided a more reliable service based in Weymouth year round with seasonal services from Poole. As part of a bid to improve service as part of the tender agreement Condor Express and her sister Condor Vitesse were fitted with a Club Lounge and an area of reclining seats.
Condor Express received an updated version of the Condor Ferries livery in 2003.
In August 2005 Condor Express briefly ran on the Brittany Ferries Poole-Cherbourg service. She had been experiencing technical problems and so Condor Vitesse was transferred to the more taxing Channel Islands service. During this time Condor Express did not sail to St Malo, instead running an afternoon round trip to Cherbourg to ensure she would return to Poole in time for the 07:30 Brittany Ferries departure time. Condor Express ran once again for Brittany Ferries on 19 May 2008.
On 14 January 2015, it was announced that she would be sold to Greek firm Seajets with her sister ship HSC Condor Vitesse, owing to her replacement by Condor Liberation. Seajets renamed it HSC Champion Jet 2.[1]
Regular routes
Champion Jet 2 operates routes from Piraeus or Heraklion to the Greek islands:[citation needed]
Condor Ferries is an operator of passenger and freight ferry services between the United Kingdom, Guernsey, Jersey and France.
HSC Condor Voyager is a high-speed catamaran ferry, owned by Brittany Ferries and chartered to Condor Ferries. Since being built in 2000, the vessel has borne the names Incat Tasmania, The Lynx and Normandie Express. She is designed to travel at speeds of up to 46-and-a-half knots, giving a journey time between Portsmouth and the Normandy ports of three hours per crossing.
HSC Champion Jet 3 is a catamaran ferry operated by Seajets. Launched in 1997, she was initially chartered out as a civilian ferry, then became the first large catamaran to enter military service when she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Jervis Bay from 1999 to 2001.
HSC Champion Jet 1 is a catamaran ferry operated by Seajets. It was previously owned by Condor Ferries and named HSC Condor Vitesse.
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.
A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popular. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferries, but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight.
The HSC High Speed Jet is a 74 m (243 ft) ocean-going catamaran built in 1990 by Incat for Hoverspeed and currently owned by Seajets. In 1990, as Hoverspeed Great Britain, she took the Hales Trophy for the fastest eastbound transatlantic journey, making the run, without passengers, in three days, seven hours and fifty-four minutes, averaging 36.6 knots.
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Blue Star Maritime S.A., operating under the brand name Blue Star Ferries, is a Greece-based company founded in 1993 which provides ferry services between the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands.
The Worldchampion Jet is a fast passenger ferry built in 2000 by Austal, Perth, Australia. Until 31 August 2018, it was in active service between Rønne and Ystad in Sweden. On 19 December 2017, HSC Villum Clausen was sold to the Greek based Ferry Company Seajets. Starting from the summer of 2019, it was renamed WorldChampion Jet and started sailing between Piraeus and Cyclades.
The HSC Cat is a high speed catamaran ferry built by Incat for Sea Containers in 1990. It has been owned by Sea and Sun Maritime Co since 2014. The vessel is currently operated by Seajets.
The HSC Olympic Champion Jet , 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. It has been renamed Olympic Champion Jet.
Seajets is a Greek/Cypriot ferry company founded in 1989 by Marios Iliopoulos and his father Panagiotis. Seajets operates a fleet of passenger, freight ferry and cruiseferry services in the Aegean Sea. Seajets is one of Greece’s leading ferry companies.
Fast Ferries is a Greek ferry company operating from the Greek mainland to the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. The company was founded in 1989 by Panagiotakis Bros. and currently operates a fleet of ro-ro ferries.
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