CAT I (ΚΑΤ Ι)

-Magic Sea Ferries

Built in 1994 (age 31). Registered in Limassol. Current line: Lavrion-Kythnos-Serifos-Sifnos

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The high speed ferry CAT I was built in 1994 in Japan, as the HAYABUSA for the Japanese company Kyushi Ferry Boat. She was the first-ever high speed ferry built for service in Japan, and she was also the largest passenger high speed craft built at the time. Her innovative design won her many accolades, including the 'Ship of the Year' award given by the Japanese Society of Naval Architects for 1995. She began service on the Bungo Channel, operating on the Yawatahama-Kyushi line. She performed this service under the Jet Ferry brandname. In 2003 her company was renamed Kyushi Orange Ferry. In 2006 she was sold the newly-established company Eagle Ferries and she was renamed ALKIONI. She was converted in Perama and she was due to begin service on the Rafina-Andros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros line on the Cyclades, but she never performed any trips for the company despite having completed her refurbishment. She was instead laid-up for most of the 2006 season in Rafina and then in Lavrion, and in 2007 she was chartered to the Egyptian company International Fast Ferries and she was inserted on the Hurghada-Safaga line on the Red Sea. In 2010 she returned to Greece under Eagle Ferries, which was rebranded as My Ferries. She underwent another refurbishment and she was renamed MY CAT. She was due to operate on the Rafina-Syros-Paros-Naxos line, but in the middle of her preparations she was instead chartered to NEL Lines, and she was once again renamed ALKIONI. She entered service on the Volos-Skiathos-Skopelos-Alonissos-Thessaloniki line on the Sporades, where she remained for two seasons. In 2012 she did not return to service under NEL Lines, and her charter was terminated. She remained laid-up in Salamina until 2019, when she was sold to the newly-established Greek company Magic Sea Ferries. She was renamed CAT I and she underwent a major refit in Keratsini and then in Salamina, but the preparations went significantly behind schedule and she was ultimately ready for service in 2022, but technical issues prevented her from operating and she spent the entire summer in Perama. She finally made her return to service in 2023, as she was assigned on the Agios Konstantinos-Skiathos-Skopelos-Alonissos line on the Sporades. In 2024 she underwent another small refit in Chalkida, during which her upper deck was removed. She was then deployed on the Lavrion-Kea-Kythnos-Serifos-Sifnos-Milos line on the Western Cyclades.

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PHOTOS (2022, 2023):