HSC Aeolos Kenteris I

Aeolos Kenteris I, is an inactive (as of November 2020) passenger ferry speedboat, which was part of the fleet of the Lesvos Shipping Company (NEL) - NEL Lines. She was built in 2000 at Alsthom Leroux Naval S.A. of France as the Aeolos Express. She could hold a total of up to 1000 passengers and 210 vehicles (146 I.X. and 12 trucks) and was powered by four[2] Pielstick diesel engines with a combined 32,400 kilowatts (43,400 hp) and reached speeds of up to 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). She had Pullman seats for people of economy and 1st class passengers, ecomomy and 1st class bar, 127 satellite TVs, headsets for music in the seats, elevator for passengers, escalator staircase, reception, Jewellery safekeeping room, telephone and toilets for disabled, and was fully-airconditioned. She took her name from Aeolus, the mythical treasurer of the winds according to Greek Mythology, but also Costas Kenteris, a modern Greek runner.

History
 Greece
Name:
  • HSC Aeolos Express (2000–2007)
  • HSC Aeolos Kenteris I
Owner: NEL Lines
Completed: 2000
Acquired: 2000
Maiden voyage: 2000
In service: 2000
Out of service: 2011
Fate: Sold.
 France
Name: HSC NGV Liamone
Owner: NEL Lines
Route: Corsica to Nice
Acquired: 2010
Maiden voyage: 2010
In service: 2010
Out of service: 2010
Identification:
  • MMSI: 237614000
  • IMO: 7332672
  • Callsign: SYMK[1]
Fate: Laid up, then sold at an auction.
Notes: Oldest highspeed NEL Lines ship until 2015
General characteristics
Type: Ro-Ro/Passenger ship
Tonnage:
Length: 112.2 m (368 ft 1 in)
Draught: 4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Speed: 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)

She was the first Greek monohull passenger highspeed craft, ie with one keel.[3] The ship has been laid up in Selinina, Salamina, since 2011. The ship will be very difficult to return to operating condition, due to the dissolution of NEL. In 2019, the ship was purchased by ANEN, but it remains unknown if and when she will return to active action.[4]

History

The ship was built in 2000 at the French shipyard Alsthom Leroux Naval S.A. as Aeolos Express. She was the first of three passenger-vehicle "super-highspeed" ferries ordered by NEL and belonged to the Corsaire 12000 type.[5] The other two were the Aeolos Express II (later Aeolos Kenteris II) and the HSC Aeolos Kenteris.

In her early years, she faced reliability problems due to problems with Pielstick diesel engines, which caused the company's name to be shaken, something to which both delays and minor problems also contributed. Although a team of engineers from France came to Greece to repair them, the problem remained. On September 15, 2006, the company announced that it was reaching a settlement with Semt Pielstick, "after almost a year of litigation in French courts". Thus, the propulsion machines were restored and upgraded, a two-year guarantee of the mechanical parts was introduced and immediate payment to NEL Lines of the amount of 10 million euros.[6]

On September 28, 2007, the sale of Aeolos Kenteris was announced, and thus the two highspeed crafts Aeolos Express and Aeolus Express II were renamed Aeolos Kenteris I and Aeolos Kenteris II respectively, in her honor.[6] After the renaming, Aeolos Kenteris I was launched on the line Piraeus-Rethymnon.[7]

From March to October 2010, she was chartered by the French SNCM, as the NGV Liamone II, for routes between Nice and Corsica.[8]

In 2011, after 11 years of operation, she was laid-up in a carnagio in Selinia, Salamina. On November 20, 2019, and after many fruitless auctions, the ship was bought at an auction by ANEN with a price of 2.020 million euros and a first bid price of 2 million euros.[4] She was finally registered within the company a year later.[9]

References
  1. www.marinetraffic.com https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:208251/mmsi:237614000/imo:7332672/vessel:MYTILENE. Retrieved 2020-10-12. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. conbelias (2017-12-05). "Θρίλερ με τον πλειστηριασμό του «Αίολος Κεντέρης Ι»". City View (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  3. "The Motorship | Fast monohulls enter Greek ferry market". www.motorship.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  4. "Στην ΑΝΕΝ και το ταχύπλοο «Αίολος Κεντερης Ι»". m.naftemporiki.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  5. "Σε ηλεκτρονικό πλειστηριασμό το «Αίολος Κεντέρης Ι» για 4,5 εκατ. ευρώ". ProtoThema (in Greek). 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  6. "Αίολος Κεντέρης Ι και ΙΙ. Δείτε από ψηλά που κατέληξαν τα πιο γρήγορα πλοία του Αιγαίου. Στιγματίστηκαν από καταγγελίες για ατυχήματα που προκαλούσαν τα απόνερα στις ακτές - ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ". www.mixanitouxronou.gr. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  7. "Εγκαίνια γραμμής Πειραιάς-Ρέθυμνο με το Αίολος Κεντέρης Ι". traveldailynews.gr. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  8. "Le NGV Liamone II aux couleurs de la SNCM". web.archive.org. 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  9. ΚΑΝΕΛΛΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ, ΘΕΜΗΣ. "Στην ΑΝΕΝ οριστικά και το ταχύπλοο «ΑΙΟΛΟΣ ΚΕΝΤΕΡΗΣ Ι» | BEST TV Καλαμάτα" (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-11-16.
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