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Attica Holdings S.A. is an operator of international ferry services in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Attica Group's operations include its subsidiaries
Superfast Ferries Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopoulos, Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopoulos, Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 5 car-passenger fer ...
, which began in 1995 with the launch of its first ships, Superfast I & Superfast II, and
Blue Star Ferries Blue Star Maritime S.A., operating under the brand name Blue Star Ferries, is a Greece-based company founded in 1993 which provides ferry services between the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands. Blue Star Ferries is the biggest ferry company ...
which operates ferries in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
to the
Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by ...
. In June 2018, Attica Group increased its share in
Hellenic Seaways Hellenic Seaways is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1984. Hellenic Seaways is a subsidiary of Attica Group along with Blue Star Ferries and Superfast Ferries. History ''Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises'' owned by the Livanos fam ...
to 98.83%.
Hellenic Seaways Hellenic Seaways is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1984. Hellenic Seaways is a subsidiary of Attica Group along with Blue Star Ferries and Superfast Ferries. History ''Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises'' owned by the Livanos fam ...
is a subsidiary of the Attica Group following the acquisition of minority interest of 1.17% in July 2019. In December 2023, it acquired
ANEK Lines ANEK Lines (Ανώνυμη Ναυτιλιακή Εταιρεία Κρήτης, ''Anonymi Naftiliaki Eteria Kritis'', Anonymous Shipping Company of Crete) is one of the largest passenger shipping companies in Greece. It was founded in 1967 by nu ...
, rendering the operator number two in the volume of passengers commuted in Europe.


Company history

The company was established in 1918 in Piraeus, Greece under the name "General Company of Commerce and Industry of Greece". In the beginning, it specialised in producing and trading
flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...
under the name of "Attica Flour Mills SA". In 1922, the company changed hands and was renamed Attica Enterprises S.A., later revised to Attica Enterprises Holding S.A. before being shortened to Attica Group. 1924 The Attica Group was listed on the
Athens Stock Exchange The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE or ATHEX; , ''Chrimatistírio Athinón'') is the stock exchange of Greece, based in the capital city of Athens. It was founded in 1876. There are currently five markets operating in ATHEX: regulated securities mark ...
. 1993 This year a new management team, chaired by Pericles S. Panagopulos, created the shipping subsidiary Attica Maritime S.A., later renamed to Superfast Ferries Maritime S.A.. The first two Superfast car-passenger ferries, Superfast I and Superfast II, were ordered in Schichau Seebeckwerft AG in Bremen, Germany. 1995 April and June: The two ordered car-passenger ferries, Superfast I and Superfast II, were delivered and employed in the Patras-Ancona-Patras service. The two ferries cut the crossing time between Patras and Ancona by up to 40%. 1996 July: Two new Superfast car-passenger ferries, Superfast III and Superfast IV, were ordered at Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Turku, Finland. 1998 April: Superfast III and Superfast IV were delivered and deployed on the Patras-Ancona-Patras route, while Superfast I and Superfast II launched a new route linking Patras and Igoumenitsa, with Bari in southern Italy. 2006 February: Attica sells its 12.33% stake in Hellenic Seaways acquired a year earlier. Blue Star Ferries receives the 'Superbrand' award recognized as a leading brand in Greece in the ‘Tourism Services’ industry. March: Blue Star Ferries' passenger-only catamaran SeaJet 2 is sold. The sale of the vessel is part of the company's policy to focus on the operation of fast, modern conventional car-passenger vessels. April: Superfast VII, Superfast VIII and Superfast IX, serving on the
Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...
, Germany –
Hanko Hanko may refer to Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland * Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid 2299 Hanko Other uses * August Hanko (military personnel), German First World War flying a ...
, Finland route in the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
are sold to AS Tallink Grupp. The sold vessels will retain their names and continue sailing under the Superfast livery until the end of 2007 at the latest, following an agreement with AS Tallink Grupp. Attica Group maintains its presence in the Baltic Sea with the operation of its two
RoRo Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usi ...
vessels, which trade between Rostock, Germany and
Uusikaupunki Uusikaupunki (; , ) is a list of towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region, northwest of Turku and south of Pori. The municipality has a pop ...
, Finland. July: Attica's subsidiary, Blue Star Maritime S.A. acquires the total assets of DANE Sea Line for a total of Euro 19.9mln. The assets included car-passenger ferry Diagoras which is deployed to the
Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; , ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally define ...
Islands’ routes in August. August: Attica enters into an agreement to sell to Veolia Transport its ice-class vessel Superfast X trading between Scotland and Belgium for a total cash consideration of Euro 112mln. The delivery of Superfast X and final payment is to take place at the beginning of 2007. November: Attica enters into an agreement with Fret Cetam of France for the chartering of RoRo Nordia until October 2008. RoRo Nordia was deployed on the Uusikaupunki, Finland – Rostock, Germany route together with RoRo Marin. As of the beginning of 2007, RoRo Marin is to be redeployed from the Baltic Sea to serve the needs of the Group in the Greece-Italy routes in the Adriatic Sea and in the domestic market. Blue Star Ferries is voted "Passenger Line of the Year" at Lloyd's List Greek Shipping Awards. December: Attica Group announces the deployment of Blue Star 1 of its subsidiary Blue Star Ferries to the Scotland-Belgium service as of the end of January 2007. Blue Star 1 is to replace Superfast X which was sold earlier in the year, and is to be delivered to her new owners in February 2007. 2007 February: Attica Group increases its stake in Minoan Lines to 22.25% June: Attica sells its total participation in Minoan Lines S.A. August: Attica proceeded in the assignment of new offices and new responsibilities to its board members. On behalf of its subsidiaries Superfast Ferries and Blue Star Ferries, Attica Group donated the amount of Euro 150,000 to the Special Relief Fund for the benefit of the victims of the recent fires in Greece. September: Attica Group announces the purchase of two RoPax ships, built in 1998 and 1999. Attica Group, pursuant to the Law 3556/2007, the Decision 1/434/03.07.2007 and the Circular nr. 33 of the
Hellenic Capital Market Commission The Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC; ), established as a legal entity by Greek Law in 1991 and organized by the Greek Law 2324 of 1995, aims to "ensure the protection and the orderly and efficient operation of the capital market, which i ...
, announced that
Marfin Investment Group MIG Holdings S.A. (also known as MIG) is a Greece, Greek investment company. It has acquired several companies and has changed name several times since. In 2004 it took the name ''Marfin Financial Group'' following the triple merger of ''Comm G ...
Holdings S.A., which is closely associated to the vice-chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Andreas Vgenopoulos, bought shares of the company as follows: a) on 20.2.2008 bought 19,295 shares with total net value of €106,292.29 b) on 21.2.2008 bought 10,518 shares with total net value of €57,938.79 2008 September:
Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...
-
Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...
route discontinued on 13 September. The service will be restarted in Spring 2009 by
Norfolkline Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the English Channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea; and passenger ferry services on the English Channel and Irish Sea; and ...
. On 12 March 2009, the ''Superfast XII'' began service on newly established the
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...
Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...
route. In December,
Brittany Ferries Brittany Ferries is the trading name of the French shipping company, BAI Bretagne Angleterre Irlande S.A. founded in 1973 by Alexis Gourvennec, that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between France, England, Ireland, Spain and the ...
acquired '' Superfast V'' from the Attica Group for €81.50 million. Following its delivery in February 2010, the ship was renamed MV ''Cap Finistère''. In June 2016, Attica Group and
BMCE Bank Bank of Africa (BOA) is a Moroccan international financial services group headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco. It was formed through the 2010 acquisition of Bank of Africa (est. 1982 in Mali) by the Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur (BMCE, ...
established Africa Morocco Link (AML), a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
that would operate scheduled ferry services from Morocco to Europe. Attica Group held a 49% minority stake in the new company, with the remainder held by a consortium of Moroccan investors led by BMCE Bank. In May 2018, Attica Group secured a 50.3% controlling interest in
Hellenic Seaways Hellenic Seaways is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1984. Hellenic Seaways is a subsidiary of Attica Group along with Blue Star Ferries and Superfast Ferries. History ''Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises'' owned by the Livanos fam ...
, increasing its stake in the company to 98.83% by June. The overall transaction amounted to €142.9 million. In September 2022, Attica Group acquired
ANEK Lines ANEK Lines (Ανώνυμη Ναυτιλιακή Εταιρεία Κρήτης, ''Anonymi Naftiliaki Eteria Kritis'', Anonymous Shipping Company of Crete) is one of the largest passenger shipping companies in Greece. It was founded in 1967 by nu ...
, expanding the company's network of routes while maintaining AMEX Lines as its fourth cruise line subsidiary. In April 2024, Attica Group sold its 49% share in Africa Morocco Link to
Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...
.


Fleet

The Attica Group fleet includes 40 ships operated by four subsidiaries.


ANEK Lines ANEK Lines (Ανώνυμη Ναυτιλιακή Εταιρεία Κρήτης, ''Anonymi Naftiliaki Eteria Kritis'', Anonymous Shipping Company of Crete) is one of the largest passenger shipping companies in Greece. It was founded in 1967 by nu ...

*''
Asterion II MS ''Asterion II'' is a Greece, Greek ferry and is currently operated by ANEK Lines. ''Asterion II'' is a ro-ro/passenger ferry, built in 1991 at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at Kobe, Japan, and put into service by ANEK in 2018 (previously operate ...
'' *''
Elyros Elyrus or Elyros () was a town of ancient Crete, which the ''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' places between Kydonia, Cydonia and Lissus (Crete), Lissus. It had a harbour, Syia (Συΐα), situated on the south coast of the island, 60 stadion (unit), s ...
'' *''
Kissamos Kissamos () is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissamos is also known as ...
'' *'' Prevelis'' (Laid up) *'' El. Venizelos'' (On long term charter for Algerie Ferries) *'' Kydon'' (On long term charter for Ferries del Caribe)


Blue Star Ferries Blue Star Maritime S.A., operating under the brand name Blue Star Ferries, is a Greece-based company founded in 1993 which provides ferry services between the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands. Blue Star Ferries is the biggest ferry company ...

*''
Blue Star 1 ''Blue Star 1'' is a Greece, Greek ferry, which is owned by Blue Star Ferries. She is a Motor ship, motor Ro-Ro/Passenger ferryboat, built in 2000 by Van der Giessen de Noord shipward in Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands. She is a sistership to ...
'' *'' Blue Star 2'' *''
Blue Star Delos Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...
'' *''
Blue Star Chios ''Blue Star Chios'' (), formerly ''Nissos Chios'' (), is a high-speed ROPAX, ro-pax ferry of Blue Star Ferries, built, along with its sister ship ''Blue Star Mykonos'', at Elefsis Shipyards. It was an old wish of Gerasimos Strintzis. In February 2 ...
'' *''
Blue Star Mykonos ''Blue Star Mykonos'' () is a ferry owned by Blue Star Ferries that currently operates most commonly on the Piraeus-Syros-Mykonos-Ikaria-Samos-Chios-Mytilene-Kavala route. It is driven by four Wartsila 12V38 main diesel engines and has an operati ...
'' *''
Blue Star Naxos Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...
'' *''
Blue Star Paros Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...
'' *''
Blue Star Patmos Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...
'' *'' Blue Carrier 1'' *'' Blue Carrier 2'' *'' Diagoras''


Hellenic Seaways Hellenic Seaways is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1984. Hellenic Seaways is a subsidiary of Attica Group along with Blue Star Ferries and Superfast Ferries. History ''Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises'' owned by the Livanos fam ...

*''
Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
'' *'' Nissos Rodos'' *'' Nissos Samos'' *'' Hellenic Highspeed'' *'' Highspeed 3'' *'' Highspeed 4'' *''
AERO 1 Highspeed Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (Am ...
'' *''
AERO 2 Highspeed Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (Am ...
'' *''
AERO 3 Highspeed Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (Am ...
'' *'' Flyingcat 3'' *'' Flyingcat 4'' *'' Flyingcat 5'' *'' Flyingcat 6'' *''
Flying Dolphin XVII Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...
'' (Laid Up) *''
Flying Dolphin XXIX Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...
'' (Laid Up)


Superfast Ferries Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopoulos, Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopoulos, Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 5 car-passenger fer ...

*''
Superfast I Superfast may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Superfast!'', a 2015 film * ''Superfast'' (album), by Dynamite Hack, 2000 * "Superfast", a 2014 song by Hollie Cook on the album ''Twice'' Other uses * Superfast broadband, using optical fiber t ...
'' *''
Superfast II Superfast may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Superfast!'', a 2015 film * ''Superfast'' (album), by Dynamite Hack, 2000 * "Superfast", a 2014 song by Hollie Cook on the album ''Twice'' Other uses * Superfast broadband, using optical fiber t ...
'' *'' Superfast III'' *'' Superfast IV'' *'' Superfast XI'' *''
Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...
'' *''
Lefka Ori Lefka Ori (, meaning 'White Mountains') or Madares ( from the Cretan Greek meaning 'without coverage, bald, bare of any vegetation for high mountain areas') is a mountain range located in Western Crete, in the Chania prefecture. The White Mounta ...
'' *''
Akka Akka or AKKA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Akka (film), ''Akka'' (film), a 1976 Indian Tamil film * Akka (TV series), ''Akka'' (TV series), a 2014–2015 Indian Tamil soap opera * Akka, a character in the children's novel ''The Wonderful ...
'' (on charter from TT-Line)


Controversies

On 18 January 2023 Lighthouse Reports, in collaboration with SRF, ARD,
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
, Il Domani and Solomon published a report claiming illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers from Italy to Greece using Superfast ferries. If those asylum seekers arrived at the ports of Venice, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi, they were denied the opportunity to seek asylum and were pushed back using ferries operated by Attica Group, specifically
Superfast Ferries Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopoulos, Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopoulos, Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 5 car-passenger fer ...
. Immigrants were put into shower rooms and metal boxes with caged roofs, sometimes being handcuffed to metal shelves. On 6 September 2023 a 36-year-old passenger on board the Blue Horizon, operated by
Blue Star Ferries Blue Star Maritime S.A., operating under the brand name Blue Star Ferries, is a Greece-based company founded in 1993 which provides ferry services between the Greek mainland and the Aegean Islands. Blue Star Ferries is the biggest ferry company ...
, met a tragic end when crew members pushed him from the ship's hatch. The passenger was en route to his birthplace, Crete Island, but had experienced a delay in boarding the ferry. Despite his intentions to board, ferry workers denied him access and pushed him off the loading ramp, causing him to fall into the sea, where he drowned. The entire incident was captured on video by other Blue Horizon ferry passengers. In response to the video evidence shared on social media, authorities took action. Four crew members of the Blue Horizon ferry, including the deck officer and the master, were promptly arrested. A Greek prosecutor filed criminal charges just one day after the tragic event, targeting the ferry captain and three of his crew members in connection with the 36-year-old man's death. One crew member faced charges of possible intentional homicide, while the other two were charged with complicity. The captain was charged with serious breaches of shipping regulations.


See also

*
List of Greek companies Greece is a country in southeastern Europe. Greece is developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to jo ...


References


External links


Attica Group's web site

Superfast Ferries
* {{cite web, url=http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/, title=Fakta om Fartyg Transport companies established in 1918 Companies listed on the Athens Exchange Shipping companies of Greece Companies based in Athens Greek brands Greek companies established in 1918