Ionian Sky
 The Ionian Sky in Igoumenitsa, August 2008
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The Ionian Sky was a ferry that went into service in 1974 as the Sapporo Maru and was last in service until September 2013 for the NEL Lines between Thessaloniki , Mytilini , Lesbos , Chios , Samos and Ikaria . After more than six years of lay, the ferry was scrapped in Turkey in spring 2020.
history
The Sapporo Maru was built under the hull number 1177 in the shipyard of the Hayashikane Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Shimonoseki and was launched on April 9, 1974. After the takeover by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Enkai Ferry in July 1974, the ship began the ferry service between Tokyo and Tomakomai on August 2, 1974 .
In November 1990, the Sapporo Maru became the property of the Blue Highway Line, and in 1991 it was renamed Sunflower Sapporo . The route of use remained the ferry connection from Tokyo to Tomakomai.
After seven more years in service off Japan, the ship became the property of the Greek Strintzis Lines in 1998 and was named Ionian Victory . After renovation work in Perama , the ferry began service between Venice , Corfu , Igoumenitsa and Patras on June 30, 1998 .
In 2000 the Ionian Victory was taken over as Blue Sky by Blue Star Ferries and from then on operated between Brindisi , Igoumenitsa and Patras. In January 2004 the ship was sold again and from February 2004 operated as Ionian Sky by Agoudimos Lines on the same route. Since March 2008 the port of Bari has been called instead of Brindisi .
After the Ionian Sky was discontinued by Agoudimos Lines in November 2009 , the ship was unemployed in Perama from 2010 and from then on was under the Cypriot flag. In July 2011 the ferry was used again. The Ionian Sky was last used since July 2013 under the management of the NEL Lines between Thessaloniki, Mytilini, Lesbos, Chios, Samos and Ikaria. On September 13, 2013, engine failure ended the ship's active career. It was hung up six days later .
In October 2019, the Ionian Sky , unused for six years, began to list . Three months later, in January 2020, the ship was sold for demolition in Turkey. On January 24, the more than 45-year-old ferry arrived at the Aliağa shipyard .
Web links
- The ship on faktaomfartyg.se (Swedish)
- The ship on ferry-site.dk (English)