Millenium Express II

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Millenium Express II
As Ionic Ferry in front of Larne, March 1989
As Ionic Ferry in front of Larne, March 1989
Ship data
flag Cyprus RepublicRepublic of Cyprus Cyprus
other ship names

Dragon (1967–1986)
Ionic Ferry (1986–1992)
Viscountess M (1992–1995)
Charm M (1995–1997)
Memed Abashidze (1997–1999)
Med (1999–2000)

Ship type ferry
Callsign GXWU
home port Limassol
Shipping company Access Ferries
Shipyard Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne , Nantes
Build number 16108
Keel laying September 15, 1966
Launch January 27, 1967
takeover June 15, 1967
Commissioning July 1, 1967
Decommissioning March 2, 2002
Whereabouts Scrapped in Turkey in 2003
Ship dimensions and crew
length
134.63 m ( Lüa )
width 21.87 m
Draft Max. 4.82 m
measurement 6,100 GT
Machine system
machine Pielstick diesel engines
Machine
performanceTemplate: Infobox ship / maintenance / service format 		5,968 kW (8,114 hp)
Top
speed 		17 kn (31 km / h)
Transport capacities
Permitted number of passengers 1300
Vehicle capacity 350 cars
Others
Registration
numbers 		IMO no. 6710906

The Millenium Express II was a ferry of the Cypriot Access Ferries , which entered service in 1967 as the Dragon for the British General Steam Navigation . The ship was badly damaged in a fire in March 2002 and scrapped in Turkey in 2003 .

history

The Dragon was laid on September 15, 1966 at Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne in Nantes and launched on January 27, 1967. After its delivery, the ship was put into service on July 1, 1967 on the route from Southampton to Le Havre .

In the following years the Dragon changed hands several times under different shipping companies belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company . Her name and her route remained unchanged. From January 23, 1984, the ship was used on the route from Portsmouth to Le Havre.

On January 4, 1985 the Dragon was taken over by Townsend Thoresen and used after a modernization on its old route. In July 1987 it was renamed Ionic Ferry and moved from Cairnryan to Larne . After Townsend Thoresen was dissolved in the same year, the ship went to P&O European Ferries (now P&O Ferries).

In June 1992 the Ionic Ferry was sold under the new name Viscountess M to the Greek shipping company Marlines , for which it was in use from Patras to Ancona and Brindisi from June 1993 .

In August 1995 the ship went as Charm M to Cadet Shipping, based in Valletta , who used it from Patras to Igoumenitsa and Bari , before it was sold as Memed Abashidze to the Georgian Shipping Company in November 1997 . After modernization in Tuzla , the Memed Abashidze was used from Batumi to Venice from 1998 .

After only one year in service, the ship changed hands again in December 1999: the Greek shipping company Access Ferries, who had the ship converted as Med in Perama and from September 2000 used it as the Millenium Express II from Igoumenitsa to Brindisi. After a short layover in Keratsini , the Millenium Express II switched to the route from Brindisi to Cesme .

On March 2, 2002, during another crossing off Strofades, a fire broke out in the ship's engine room, which soon spread to the superstructure of the Millennium Express II and severely damaged the ship. The still burning wreck was towed to Piraeus on March 4th and extinguished there by March 6th. On March 12, the burnt-out Millenium Express II was launched in Eleusis, before it was towed to Aliağa , Turkey, in April 2004 for scrapping .

Web links

Commons : IMO 6710906  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files