Name HSF Knossos Palace Port of registry Heraklio, Greece Yard number 6059 Builder Fincantieri | Owner Minoan Lines Route Piraeus–Heraklio Length 214 m | |
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Namesake Ancient palace of Knossos Similar Knossos, Knossos Minoan Palace, Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Akrotiri, Fortifications of Heraklion | ||
HSF Knossos Palace is a Ro-Pax high speed ferry, built in 2000 at the Sestri Ponente shipyards by Fincantieri and owned by Minoan Lines. It can accommodate up to 2,500 passengers and 700 cars, and has 758 beds plus 742 airseats for passengers. The vessel is powered by four 4x Wärtsilä 16V46C diesel engines with a combined power of 67,517 kW, which give her a top speed of 31,6 knots.
Contents
It is named after the Minoan palace of Knossos and its sister ship is HSF Festos Palace. The cabins are equipped with en suite bathrooms, telephones, TV sets and are soundproof. It has an internet cafe, ATM machines and a pool on the top deck (open only during summer).
Route
Knossos Palace serves the overnight route Piraeus - Heraklio and Heraklio - Piraeus, except for some rare occasions in which it replaces other ships of Minoan Lines in their routes. During the holiday season, it occasionally operates during daytime, completing her voyage in 6 hours.
Accidents and incidents
On November 19, 2003 Knossos Palace was sailing 40 nm northwest of Heraklion enroute from Piraeus when a fire broke out on board. The fire was caused by a truck in the vessel's garage that was carrying chemicals. The crew swiftly dealt with the emergency and the fire was put out using the sprinkler system before causing major damage. However, the fire damaged the cables powering the passenger drawbridge, which became inoperable. As a result, an airport staircase had to be brought to the port in order to allow safe disembarkation.