MS Spero

MS Spero, was a British ferry ship, which was part of Ellerman Wilson's fleet. She was built by Camell Laird Shipsbuilders in 1966. She was later sold on NEL Lines as the Sappho, and was the company's first ship. She was in use from 1973 up to 2001, when she was sold to Carra and Pontikos as the Santorini 3. She was eventually sold for scrap as the Santori.

History
 United Kingdom
Name: MS Spero
Owner: Ellerman Wilson Line
Route: Kingston Upon Hull to Zeebruge, Gothenburg and London
Builder: Camell Laird Shipsbuilders, England
Yard number: 1322
Laid down: 1966
Launched: 5 May 1966
Acquired: August 1966
Maiden voyage: August 1966
In service: August 1966
Out of service: 1973
Fate: Sold.
History
 Greece
Name: MS Sappho (Σαπφώ)
Owner: NEL Lines
Route: Piraeus to Chios and Mytilene
Acquired: 1973
Maiden voyage: 1973
In service: 1973
Out of service: March 2002
Fate: Sold.
General characteristics
Notes: First NEL Lines ship

History

The construction on the ship started in 1966. Her number was 1322 and was launched on May, while on August, she was routed between Hull-Gothenburg-London, connecting England with Sweden,[1] and later between Hull-Zeebruge and Hull-Gothenburg. On April 26, 1973, the newly founded Maritime Company of Lesvos, purchased the ship and renamed her "Sappho", after the poet with the same name. After she was purchased, she was routed between Piraeus-Chios-Mytilene, where she worked for nearly 30 years. Later, the route was expanded to Thessaloniki. On such a route, on 12:30, February 25, 1999, her engine room caught on fire, while sailing near Karystos. As a result, she was towed to Piraeus the next day for repairs. No victims were reported.[2][3] In March 2002, when she reached the 35 year limit of age which was valid then, she was sold on the Greek Carra & Pontikos (Lacerta Shipping), for 1.500.000 USD, with a new name "Santorini 3, connecting Tanzania and Kenya.The route was found pathetic and finally, on December 2003, she was sold for scrap at Indian scrappers, as the "Santori" for her last trip.[4]

Receptions

During her days in Greece, she was very successful, having made 4,493 trips and carried 5,316,981 passengers. Even later, when new, more modern ships were launched on the line (such as the MS Mytilene), she was still used by passengers for their travels, as she was considered better at sea and with less vibration.[4]

References
  1. "Ένα νοσταλγικό ταξίδι με το Σαπφώ μέσα από 20 φωτογραφίες | Lesvosnews.net". www.lesvosnews.net (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  2. Epochi, rizospastis gr | Synchroni (1999-02-27). "rizospastis.gr - Δύσκολες ώρες στο "ΣΑΠΦΩ"". ΡΙΖΟΣΠΑΣΤΗΣ. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  3. "Τέλος καλό,όλα καλά". ΤΑ ΝΕΑ (in Greek). 1999-02-27. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  4. Συντάκτης. "Κόπηκε σε παλιοσίδερα το "ΣΑΠΦΩ" | Chios News" (in Greek). Retrieved 2020-09-30.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.