MS ''Kriti I'' is a RO/PAX ship owned and operated by

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 ...

. Along with and her sister ship ''Kriti II'' she is the oldest ship in the fleet of ANEK Lines. The ship was built in 1979 at Koyo Dockyard, Japan and her original name was ''New Suzuran''.

Service history

''New Suzuran'', with her sister ship ''New Yukari'', were bought from

in 1996. The constructions became 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 ...

, Greece in 1996. After the construction the new ''Kriti I'', with her sister ship ''Kriti II'', served on the

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

–

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...

–

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

–

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

route for many years. After the arrivals of the newest ships of ANEK Lines, the Japanese ferries ''Lefka Ori'' and ''Sophocles Venizelos'', ''Kriti I'' with her sister ship ''Kriti II'' were transferred to 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. ''Kriti I'' also performed many replacements for other ships on other routes such as the Patras–Igoumenitsa–Corfu–

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

route. In 2013, the ship was chartered to an Italian company and operated on the

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

–

Olbia Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...

route but was unsuccessful due to mechanical damage. The ship, after the chartering, returned to the Piraeus–Heraklion route but again was chartered, this time to a Russian company. The ship went to

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

but never entered service and returned to Piraeus. The ship was laid-up many times and eventually, in mid-2016

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 ...

chartered it for the Piraeus–

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 ...

route for summer months only. Eventually in 2017 ''Kriti I'' was again chartered by

Grandi Navi Veloci Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) is an Italian shipping company, based in Genoa, that operates ferry, ferries between mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, France, Spain, Albania, Morocco and Tunisia. It was established by Aldo Grimaldi in 1992. History ...

. In Italy the ship operated on the

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...

–

Termini Imerese Termini Imerese (; ) is a town of the Metropolitan City of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is one of the most important towns of the Metropolitan City of Palermo, from which it is 33 km away. The town is easily reachabl ...

route with . The ship was chartered for three years and in December 2019 ''Kriti I'' returned to Piraeus and has been laid-up since then at Perama. After a refit ''Kriti I'' re-entered service on the Piraeus-Heraklion route.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kriti I Ferries of Greece 1979 ships