The MDV 1200 class fast ferry is a class of six vessels built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (20 ...

in Italy. Four of these vessels were for

Sea Containers Sea Containers was a Bermudan registered company which operated two main business areas: transport and container leasing. It filed for bankruptcy on 16 October 2006. In 2009 its maritime container interests were transferred to a new company Sea ...

, with the other two vessels being for Ocean Bridge Investments.

History

The MDV1200 craft were built for Ocean Bridge Investments, and were delivered in 1996 (''Pegasus One'') and 1997 (''Pegasus Two'') respectively. Pegasus One was sold to Tallink, and later to Stena Line. In 2007 she was sold to Aegean Speed Lines and was renamed Speedrunner II. In 2014, Speedrunner II was sold to Naviera Paraguana and was renamed Paraguana I. Pegasus Two currently operates at Arab Bridge Marinetime, under the name Queen Nefertiti. The MDV1200II craft were built for

. The first two craft (''SuperSeaCat One'' and ''SuperSeaCat Two'') were delivered in 1997, the third and fourth craft (''SuperSeaCat Three'' and ''SuperSeaCat Four'') followed in 1999. Originally built for operating on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

, the venture was operated by

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 S ...

. The ''SuperSeaCat'' operation didn't last on the Channel, as in 1998 the ''SuperSeaCat Two'' went on operations with the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * ...

for a year. The following year the ''SuperSeaCat Three'' operated for the Steam Packet, undertaking her Maiden Voyage with the company between

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

. Since then, the ''SuperSeaCat One'', ''Three'' and ''Four'' operated for

Silja Line Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company Tallink, AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja osakeyhtiö, O ...

. In 2003, the ''SuperSeaCat Two'' went on a long-term charter to the

. In 2005, the first of the quartet, the ''SuperSeaCat One'', was sold to

Trasmediterránea Trasmediterránea operates passengers and cargo ferries between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and northern Africa's Spanish territories. Since 2017 the majority of the company belongs to Naviera Armas. History Th ...

, as the ''Almudaina Dos''. In 2021, Almudaina Dos was sold to Greek ferry company Horizon Sea Lines and was renamed

HSC Santa Irini The HSC ''Speedrunner Jet 2'' is one of four high speed monohull ferries built by Fincantieri for Sea Containers. She is currently owned and operated by Seajets. The vessel was delivered in May 1997 as ''Superseacat One'' and put into servi ...

. It was revealed in 2008 that Sea Containers had sold the ''SuperSeaCat Three'' and ''Four'' to Aegean Speed Lines, who operate the two ships on their usual

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

route. SuperSeaCat 3 was renamed Speedrunner 3 and SuperSeaCat 4 was renamed Speedrunner 4 (IV). It was also revealed in 2008 that the ''SuperSeaCat Two'' would operate as the ''Viking'' for the remainder of her charter to the Steam Packet. In 2009, the ''Viking'' was sold to Hellenic Seaways and renamed ''Hellenic Wind''. In 2016, Hellenic Wind remained at the same company and was renamed Hellenic Highspeed. In 2022, she was chartered to AML (Africa Morroco Link). In 2016, Speedrunner IV was sold to Greek ferry company

Golden Star Ferries Golden Star Ferries is a Greek ferry company operating from the Greek mainland to the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. Golden Star Ferries was founded in 2011 by Andriot brothers Giorgos and Dimitris Stephanou, who also own the ''Bright Nav ...

and was renamed Super Runner. In 2021, Super Runner was sold to

Seajets Seajets is a Greek/Cypriot ferry company operating passenger and freight ferry services in the Aegean Sea. History Seajets was established in 1989. Today, it operates a fleet of 14 high speed vessels, and 3 conventional Ro-Ro ferries which servi ...

and was renamed HSC Super Runner Jet. In 2022, Speedrunner 3 was sold to

and was renamed HSC Speedrunner Jet.

Vessels

Layout

* Deck 1: Bridge * Deck 2: Upper passenger deck, open deck * Deck 3: Lower passenger deck, retail facilities * Deck 4: Car deck * Deck 5: Engine room, fuel tanks

External links

SuperSeaCat service Helsinki - Tallinn
by

References

{{Reflist, 2 Ferry classes Ferries of the United Kingdom Ferries of France Ferries of Finland Ferries of the Republic of Ireland High-speed craft Ships built in Italy Ships built by Fincantieri