MEGA JET (ΜΕΓΑ ΤΖΕΤ)

-Sea Jets

Built in 1995 (age 30). Registered in Piraeus. Current line: None (laid-up in Chalkida)

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The high speed ferry MEGA JET was built in 1995 in Australia, as the CAT-LINK I for the Danish company Cat-Link, along with her sister ship, namely the CAT-LINK II. Both ships were deployed on the Aarhus-Kalundborg line on Kattegat. The services of Cat-Link were taken over by the Danish company Scandlines in 1997. The CAT-LINK I remained in service for the latter until 1998, after which she was laid-up in Freeport in 1999, following a failed attempt to operate on the Caribbean Sea under charter to Incat Denmark. In 2000 she remained laid-up in Charleston in the United States, while in 2001 she was acquired by the Greek company Ventouris Ferries, together with her other sister ship, namely the INCAT 033, and both ships were renamed THUNDERCAT I and THUNDERCAT II, respectively. They became the first-ever high speed craft of the company, and they joined the Ventouris High Speed Service division. They were deployed on the Igoumenitsa-Paxoi-Corfu-Brindisi line on the Adriatic Sea, but the service proved to be a major failure, and therefore both ships were laid-up in Valletta. In 2004 the THUNDERCAT I was sold to the German-Spanish company FRS Iberia/Maroc, being renamed TARIFA JET and entering service on the Tarifa-Tangier Med on the Gibraltar Strait. In 2005 she was renamed THUNDERCAT 1. Following the completion of the 2007 season, she was laid-up in Gibraltar. In 2008 she was sold to the Greek company Sea Jets, thereby becoming their first-ever high speed ferry. She was renamed MEGA JET and she became the new flagship of the company, and she began service on the Piraeus-Santorini-Heraklion line. Her first season was marred by numerous engine troubles and canceled services, while her second season, which was spent on the Piraeus-Santorini-Heraklion-Rethymnon line in 2009, did not fare any better. In 2010 her service was restricted to the Heraklion-Rethymnon-Santorini line. In 2014 she operated on the Heraklion-Rethymnon-Santorini-Ios-Naxos-Mykonos line, thus operating from Crete to Santorini together with the TERA JET, which replaced her as the company's flagship. In 2015 she was back on the Heraklion-Rethymnon-Santorini line, while in 2016 she operated on the Retyhmnon-Santorini line only. In 2017 she and her fleetmate, namely the MASTER JET (which was renamed CALDERA VISTA in 2018), were chartered to the Portuguese company Atlântico Line for service on the Azores Archipelago, namely on the Vila Do Porto-Ponta Delgada-Praia Da Vitória-Velas-Pico-Horta lifeline. The MEGA JET returned there in 2018 and in 2019, but failed to do so in 2020. Having been deemed to surplus requirements by Sea Jets, she has since remained laid-up in Chalkida.

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