HSC Speedrunner Jet

The HSC Speedrunner Jet is a fast ferry owned by Seajets thαt operates between Sitia, Kasos, Karpathos, Chalki and Rhodos. She was built in 1999 at Fincantieri, Riva Trigoso, Italy, for Sea Containers as HSC SuperSeaCat Three. Under that name she sailed on Sea Container's services around the British Isles, as well as with its subsidiaries Silja Line and SuperSeaCat on the Baltic Sea.[2]

HSC Speedrunner III at Piraeus on March 11, 2021.
History
Greece
Name
  • 1999–2009: Superseacat Three
  • 2009–2022: Speedrunner III
  • 2022–Present: Speedrunner Jet
Operator
Port of registry
BuilderFincantieri, Riva Trigoso, Italy
Yard number2003
Launched3 October 1998
AcquiredMarch 1999
In service8 April 1999
IdentificationIMO number: 9141871
StatusIn service
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage
Length100.40 meters
Beam17.00 meters
Height10.70 meters
Draught4.60 meters
Installed power4 × Ruston V20RK 270
Propulsion
Speed
  • 34 knots (63 km/h) service speed
  • 40 knots (74 km/h) maximum speed
Capacity
  • 800 passengers
  • 160 cars
  • 145 cars & 2 buses

History
SuperSeaCat Three approaching Helsinki in intermediate livery, August 2006
HSC Superseacat Three departing Helsinki, October 2006.

SuperSeaCat Three was the third mono-hulled fast ferry to be built for Sea Containers. She was initially set in traffic between Liverpool, England and Dublin, Ireland. In 2000 Dublin was switched to Douglas, Isle of Man. The following year SuperSeaCat Three started operating between Dover, England and Calais, France.[2]

Since the year 2000 Sea Containers had operated HSC SuperSeaCat Four between Helsinki and Tallinn, marketed as a part of their Silja Line brand. The route was highly profitable and in 2003 It was decided that SuperSeaCat Three should join her sister in that service. Due to the Baltic Sea freezing during winter, the service could not be operated between January and April each year, so the ship spent those month laid up.[2] For the summer season of 2005 a third ship, HSC SuperSeaCat One was added to the service.[3]

In late 2005, Sea Containers decided to sell their flights, including the lucrative Silja Line. However, the company that bought Silja Line, Estonian ferry operator Tallink, already operated several fast ferries (as well as traditional ferries) between Helsinki and Tallinn. As a result, they could not take over the SuperSeaCats as that would have given them a dominant market position on the route. Hence Sea Containers decided, despite its earlier decision, to continue operating SuperSeaCat Three and Four under the SuperSeaCat brand.[4]

On 12 October 2007 the SuperSeaCat Three collided with HSC Tallink AutoExpress 2 in Tallinn harbour. Due to strong winds the SuperSeaCat Three was assisted by a tug, but this was not enough to prevent the collision. No passengers were harmed, but the SuperSeaCat Three tore a meter-long hole on the side of the AutoExpress 2.[5][6]

Speedrunner III in Levante Ferries livery, 2016.
Speedrunner III in Levante Ferries livery, 2016.

In 2008, SuperSeaCat Three was sold to Greek company Aegean Speed Lines, along with her sister ship SuperSeaCat Four. Both ships remained in service between Helsinki and Tallinn. However, in 2009, the company decided to bring both ships to Greek service. The SuperSeaCat Three arrived on 17 June 2009, was renamed Speedrunner III and began service on 25 June 2009 on the Piraeus-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos line, which she also served in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 she was laid-up in Eleusis Bay due to her company's economic difficulties, but she returned to service the following year, operating on the Piraeus-Serifos-Sifnos-Milos line, where she also remained in 2014. In 2015 she was chartered to Moroccan company Navline, operating between Algeciras and Tanger. In 2016, she returned to Greece and was chartered to Levante Ferries of Ionian Group, operating in the Ionian Sea, on the Patras-Sami-Ithaca line. In late 2016, following the sale of her fleetmate Speedrunner IV, she returned to Aegean Speed Lines, and is due to operate in the Cyclades again in 2017.

In May 2022, Speedrunner III was sold to Seajets and was renamed Speedrunner Jet. Since July 15, it operates between Sitia, Kasos, Karpathos, Chalki and Rhodos.

References
  1. , retrieved 28. 3. 2016
  2. (in Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: HSC SuperSeaCat Three (1999), retrieved 12. 10. 2007
  3. (in Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: HSC SuperSeaCat One (1997), retrieved 12. 10. 2007
  4. (in Finnish) Valkeat laivat: Uudet tuulet puhaltavat Archived 6 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 12. 10. 2007
  5. (in Finnish) Ilta-Sanomat: SuperSeacat ajoi päin Tallinkin AutoExpressiä, retrieved 12. 10. 2007
  6. (in Finnish and English) FCBS Forum: SuperSeaCat Three osui Tallink AutoExpress 2:een, retrieved 12. 10. 2007
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