CHAMPION JET 3 (ΤΣΑΜΠΙΟΝ ΤΖΕΤ 3)

-Sea Jets

Built in 1997 (age 28). Registered in Limassol. Current line: Piraeus-Serifos-Sifnos-Milos

The high speed ferry CHAMPION JET 3 was built in Australia in 1997, as the INCAT 045. While being advertised by her builder, she was chartered during her first year to the Australian company TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, for whom she operated on the Melbourne-Devonport line on the Bass Strait. After her charter ended, she returned to the shipyard where she was built, while waiting for a new buyer. In 1999 she was leased to the Royal Australian Navy, for whom she was commissioned as the HMAS JERVIS BAY. She was assigned to transporting military personnel and equipment between Australia and East Timor during the latter's fight against Indonesia. She would usually link Darwin with Dili, while also providing humanitarian aid in addition to military aid. After two years, she was decommissioned and she returned to her builder in 2001, where she was once again made available for civilian use. In 2002 she was acquired by the Italian company TRIS Traghetti Isole Sarde, and she was renamed WINNER. She operated on the Genoa-Palau line under the TRIS Jet brandname, but her company faced financial difficulties and she was laid-up in Portland in the United Kingdom after the season ended. In 2004 she was acquired by the newly-established British low-cost company Speed Ferries, and she was renamed SPEED ONE. She began service on the Boulogne-Dover line on the Channel. In 2005 she had a minor damage to her bow after a collision with the breakwater, while in 2007 she collided with a pier in Dover while trying to dock, although she was quickly repaired in Portsmouth. In 2008, Speed Ferries was placed into administration due to financial issues, and the ship was sent for lay-up in Tilbury, again looking to find an operator. In 2009 she was reportedly sold to the British company Epic Shipping, and she was renamed SEA LEOPARD. She underwent a refit in Falmouth, but she did not resume service. In 2010 she was bought by the French company Condor Ferries, and she was renamed CONDOR RAPIDE. After a refit in Weymouth, she was deployed on the St Malo-Jersey-Guernsey line on the Channel, where she remained until 2020. In 2021 she was sold to the Spanish company Trasmapi. She headed to Vigo in order to undergo her conversion for her new owners, but she remained laid-up there, after having also been renamed INCAT 045 once again. In 2023 she was sold to the Greek company Sea Jets, for whom she was renamed CHAMPION JET 3, and she reunited with her two sister ships that used to be fleetmates with her under Condor Ferries, namely the CHAMPION JET 1 (previously known as the CONDOR VITESSE) and the CHAMPION JET 2 (previously known as the CONDOR EXPRESS). After a major refit in Salamina, she was deployed on the Piraeus-Paros-Naxos-Santorini line on the Cyclades in 2024. In 2025 she operated on the Piraeus-Serifos-Sifnos-Milos line.

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