''Naxos Jet'' is a high speed

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

operated by

Seajets Seajets is a Greek/ Cypriot ferry company founded in 1989 by Marios Iliopoulos and his father Panagiotis. Seajets operates a fleet of passenger, freight ferry and cruiseferry services in the Aegean Sea. Seajets is one of Greece's leading ferry co ...

in the Aegean.

History

The ''Naxos Jet'' was built in 1992 as ''Seacat Scotland'' for Sea Containers. She was built to

inaugurate In government and politics, inauguration is the process of Oath of office, swearing a person into Public administration, office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special ...

a new fast ferry service between

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. Before commencing service on the North Channel she briefly operated on the

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

route for

Hoverspeed Hoverspeed was a ferry company that operated on the English Channel from 1981 until 2005. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Seaspeed and Hoverlloyd. Its last owners were Sea Containers; the company ran a small fleet of two high-speed Se ...

. During the winter of 1994/1995 she was chartered to

middle eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

operator Q Ships for service across the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

. for this role she was renamed ''Q Ship Express''. During her charter the Stranraer – Belfast route was operated by Seacat Isle of Man. On completion of the charter she returned to the

–

route, changing back to her original name. ''Seacat Scotland'' was chartered again during the winter of 1997/1998. This time to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

an ferry operator Navegacion Atlantida S.A. for service on the River Plate. She returned to the North Channel for the 1998 summer season. Sea Containers left Stranraer in 2000 in favour of

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

following heavy competition from

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 ...

and P&O Irish Sea at

Loch Ryan Loch Ryan (, ) is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The town of Stranraer is the largest settlement on its shores, wi ...

. ''Seacat Scotland'' operated the Belfast – Troon route until 2003 when she was replaced by the ''Rapide''. ''Seacat Scotland'' transferred to the

Dover – Calais route which she operated with ''Seacat Danmark'' and ''Seacat France''. She remained on the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

until September 2005 when she was once again replaced by the ''Rapide''. She left Dover in September 2004 bound for the Pallion shipyard in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. She remained dry docked in Sunderland until she was sold to Fortune Maritime Enterprises . She left Sunderland in April 2007 bound for

Keratsini Keratsini () is a suburban town in the western part of the Piraeus regional unit, which in turn is a part of the Athens Urban Area. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Keratsini-Drapetsona, of which it is the s ...

as the ''Shikra''. Before entering service between

Safaga Port Safaga, also known as Safaga ( ', ), is a town in Egypt, on the coast of the Red Sea, located south of Hurghada. This small port is also a tourist area that consists of several bungalows and rest houses. Having numerous phosphate mines, i ...

and

Dhuba Duba () is a city in the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia. The city is located on the northern Red Sea coast. Local citizens describe it as ''The Pearl of the Red Sea''. As of 2022, it had a population of 39,543. History The first reference to Dub ...

she was renamed ''Al Huda I''. In July 2010 the ''Al Huda I'' arrived in

Perama Perama () is a coastal town and a suburb of Piraeus and belongs to the Piraeus regional unit and is the southwestern limit of Athens urban area. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km ...

. During her refit she was repainted in NEL Lines livery and renamed ''Cyclades Express''. In early 2016, ''Cyclades Express'' was sold to the ferry company Seajets and is planned to be renamed ''Naxos Jet''. Since 2016 in under the name of ''Naxos Jet'' and works every Summer from Piraeus to Aegean Islands

Sister ships

* ''Cat'' * ''Speedrunner 1'' * ''Master Jet'' * ''Pescara Jet'' * ''Condor 10'' * ''Mandarin'' There are also two other 74m hulls built by Incat but show clear differences to the standard 74m design ships above. These are:- * ''Patricia Olivia'' – Modified passenger accommodation and forward windows. * ''Atlantic III'' – Has the appearance of an Incat 78m design.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naxos Jet Ships of Seajets Ferries of Greece 1991 ships Ships built by Incat