Yard number 1096 Length 141 m | Launched 3 March 1966 Builder Lindholmens varv | |
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Name 1966–69 Svea
1969–72 Hispania
1972–78 Saga
1978–98 Knossos
1998–2003 Captain Zaman II
2003 onwards Ancona Owner 1966–69 Rederi AB Svea
1969–78 Swedish Lloyd
1978–98 Minoan Lines
1998–2003 Ferro Ferryboat & RoRo Transport
2003–10 Blue Line International Operator 1966–69 Rederi AB Svea
1969–78 Swedish Lloyd
1978–98 Minoan Lines
1998–2001 Diler Lines
2001–02 Comanav
2003–10 Blue Line International Port of registry 1966–69 Sweden, Stockholm
1969–78 Sweden, Gothenburg
1978–98 Greece, Heraklion
1998–2000 Belize, Belize City
2000–03 Turkey, Istanbul
2003–10 Cyprus, Limassol Route Ancona↔Spalato (as of 2009) | ||
MV Ancona is a car-passenger ferry owned by Blue Line International and operated on their service linking Ancona, Italy to Split, Croatia. She was built in 1966 by Lindholmens varv in Gothenburg, Sweden for Rederi AB Svea as MS Svea. As Svea she was used on the joint Sweden–United Kingdom service operated by Ellerman's Wilson Line, Swedish Lloyd and Rederi AB Svea. In 1969 Svea was sold to Swedish Lloyd and renamed MS Hispania. In 1972 she was renamed MS Saga. In 1978 she was sold to Minoan Lines following the closure of Swedish Lloyd's passenger services and renamed MS Knossos. In 1998 she passed to Diler Lines, becoming their MS Captain Zaman II. In 2003 she was sold to Blue Line and received her current name. She was sold for scrap in October 2010.
Contents
Concept and construction
In the mid-1960s Rederi AB Svea, Swedish Lloyd and Ellerman's Wilson Line decided to establish a joint service between Sweden and the United Kingdom, appropriately named England–Sweden Line, abbreavited ELS. Each participant company had a new ship built for the service; Rederi AB Svea and Swedish Lloyd opted to order two identical sister ships (MS Saga and MS Svea) from Gothenburg's Lindholmens varv, while Ellerman's Wilson ordered a slightly smaller vessel (MS Spero) from Cammell Laird in Birkenhead. Swedish Lloyd also ordered a third ship of the Saga/Svea design (MS Patricia) for their UK–Spain service.
All three ships built for the UK–Sweden service were based on an essentially traditional concept with subdued and luxurious interior fittings and without full-height car decks, with a service speed of 18 knots (33.34 km/h; 20.71 mph). Rederi AB Svea's Svea was launched from drydock on 3 March 1966, and delivered to her owners on 27 October of the same year.
1966–69: Rederi AB Svea
Following delivery to Rederi AB Svea, Svea sailed from Gothenburg to her port of registry Stockholm. On 30 October 1966, she made an introductory cruise around the Stockholm archipelago. Subsequently she sailed back to Gothenburg, and entered service on the Gothenburg–Hull route on 10 November 1966, running parallel to Ellerman's Wilson Line's Spero, while Swedish Lloyd's Saga sailed on the Gothenburg–Tilbury route.
From early on the ELS service faced fierce competition from Tor Line, who had also initiated a UK–Sweden service in 1966. Unlike the ELS ships, Tor Line's MS Tor Anglia and MS Tor Hollandia featured modern furnishings, full-height car decks and had a service speed of 22 knots (40.74 km/h; 25.32 mph). Possibly due to the high level of competition Rederi AB Svea decided to withdraw from the joint UK–Sweden service in March 1968, when Svea was sold to Swedish Lloyd for a delivery in 1969.
1969–78: Swedish Lloyd
Swedish Lloyd took over Svea on 7 January 1969, when the ship arrived at the Burmeister & Wain shipyard for rebuilding for UK–Spain service. In April 1969 she was renamed Hispania and entered service on the Southampton–Bilbao route, running parallel to her sister ship Patricia. On 29 November 1970 Hispania was moved to the Gothenburg–Tilbury service, running parallel to Saga. During the off-season Swedish Lloyd marketed round trips on their ships as four-day mini cruises, making Hispania and her sister ships some of the first cruiseferries in the world.
Competition from Tor Line remained fierce on the line service, and in February 1972 the joint ELS service was radically cut down: on 7 February Swedish Lloyd sold Saga to Stena Line, and Hispania was in turn renamed Saga. On 25 February Ellerman's Wilson Line withdrew Spero from the service, leaving Saga (ex-Svea) as the sole ship of the England–Sweden Line.
In 1975–76 Tor Line introduced notably larger and faster sister vessels MS Tor Britannia and MS Tor Scandinavia to the UK–Sweden service. The Saga could not compete with the more modern tonnage, and on 2 September 1977 Swedish Lloyd abandoned the Gothenburg–Tilbury service. The Southampton–Bilbao service had been abandoned a month before, and as a result both Saga and Patricia were laid up at Lindholmens varv in Gothenburg.
1978–98: Minoan Lines
In March 1978 Saga was sold to the Greece-based Minoan Lines. On 6 April 1978, she was renamed Knossos and subsequently entered service on Minoan Lines Piraeus–Heraklion route. On 16 September 1980 the ship suffered an engine room fire while in Piraues. In 1985 she again sailed parallel to one of her sister ships, when Minoan Lines acquired Festos, ex-Saga.
In 1988 Knossos was moved to the Piraeus–Chania service, where she remained until October 1995 when Minoan Lines decided to abandon the route. Knossos was laid up until March 1996, when she started sailing on the Patras–Igoumenitsa–Corfu–Ancona service. The following year the service was shortened to Igoumenitsa–Corfu–Brindisi, with calls at Corfu omitted during the northern hemisphere winter season.
1998–2003: Diler Lines and Comanav
In February 1998 Knossos (as well as Festos) was sold to Ferro Ferryboat & RoRo Transport. Knossos was renamed Captain Zaman II, while Festos became Captain Zaman I. Both ships entered service on Turkey-based Diler Lines' Istanbul–Odessa route. In August of the same year the route of the ships was altered into Brindisi–Igoumenitsa. During the northern hemisphere summer seasons of 2001 and 2002 Captain Zaman II was chartered to Comanav for service between Nador and Seté. Following the end of her 2002 charter to Comanav Captain Zaman II was laid up at Tuzla, Turkey.
2003–10: Blue Line
On 17 January 2003, Captain Zaman II was sold to the Croatia-based SEM Maritime for service with their subsidiary Blue Line International. The ship was renamed Ancona and entered service on Blue Line's Ancona–Split service on 1 April 2003. During the northern hemipshere summer season the service also included occasional calls at Hvar and Vis.
Retirement
Ancona was withdrawn from service in 2010 due to the new SOLAS 2010 regulations coming into effect. As a result she was sold for scrap and is due to head to yards at Alang, India. The scrapping contract was suspended due to a lull in the steel market, but in the end the Ancona beached at Alang scrapyards on December 16, 2010, in plot 134.