Ex Corsica Express Seconda will be deployed in Seajets' fleet

The French company sold the high-speed unit to the Greek same shipowner who acquired Tirrenia's Scorpio last year

Paros Jet (Seajets) FB.jpg

Although the company of Pascal Lota didn't confirm the news, high-speed ferry Corsica Express Seconda was allegedly sold Greek buyers. According to international classification registers, the ship was already renamed Paros Jet and left the Italian flag to fly the Cypriot one.

Further rumours come from Greek media, reporting that involved buyer is Greek Seajets Marine shipping company, headquartered in the Piraeus and operating connections from Greece to the Cyclades islands as from 1989. The group's fleet is currently encompassing 11 hi-speed passengers means, all of them built between 1990 and 1999, as well as 103 metres Paros Jet (1996), able to board 535 passengers  ferrying at 37 knots speed. For the time being, according to AIS's website, the ferry is in the Piraeus. Still in accordance to Greek media, as from early July, the ship should be engaged on the Piraeus – Paros - Naxos - Koufonissi – Amorgos link.

The price of transaction wasn't disclosed, however it was quite enough to convince Corsica Ferries

to 'get rid of' this mean, that was laying off at Vado Ligure due to her high operational costs.

In fact, bunker consumptions make the deployment of these high-speed units rather inconvenient, at least on some routes.

In April 2014 the same Greek shipowner already acquired ex Tirrenia's unit Scorpio (built at Fincantieri in 1999, able to board 2,100 passengers and 600 cars and ferrying at over 40 knots speed) actually renamed Tara jet. This is the only still operating hi-speed ferry in this series which also encompassed the Taurus, Aries and Capricorn, as a matter of fact, after few years out of commission due to the high operational costs, as determined by Tirrenia's extraordinary administration, the first two units were scrapped in Turkey and the latter was converted.

Francesco Bottino