ORION (ΟΡΙΩΝ)
-Creta Cargo Lines (2021-2023)
current ORION K for Alesia Marine
Built in 1978 (age 47). Was registered in Piraeus. Current line: None in Greece, sold to Alesia Marine for service between Nigeria and Gabon
The small ferry ORION was built in 1978 in the United Kingdom, as the SATURN for the Scottish government-owned company Caledonian MacBrayne, also known as CalMac Ferries. She began service on the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay line, thus linking the Scottish mainland with the Isle of Bute via the Firth of Clyde. In 1986, she began a rotation policy together with her two sister ships, whereupon she would be alternating her services between the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay line and the Gourock-Dunoon line, usually making weekly switches. From 1993 to 1999, she would also perform summer cruises along the Firth of Clyde. In 2005 she was deployed on the Ardrossan-Brodick line, thus linking the Scottish mainland with the Isle of Arran via the Firth of Clyde, where she would go on to operate during every summer season until 2011. Following that, she was laid-up in Rosneath, having been retired Caledonian MacBrayne and being listed for sale. While her two sister ships, namely the JUPITER and the JUNO, were eventually sold fo scrap, she was sold in 2015 to Pentland Ferries, which is another company operating in Scotland. She was renamed ORCADIA and she arrived in Stronmess in order to undergo a refit, but she was never activated by Pentland Ferries, instead remaining laid-up. In 2016 she headed to St Margaret's Hope, where she remained laid-up until 2021. Later in that same year, she was acquired by the Greek company Creta Cargo Lines. She was renamed ORION in 2022 and she underwent a conversion in Salamina, during which her stern was fully remodeled. She began service in 2023 on the Lavrion-Kea-Andros-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Ios-Santorini-Milos line and also on the Lavrion-Skyros-Skiathos-Skopelos line under the Creta Cargo Group brandname. This proved to be her only summer in Greece, as she was sold in late 2023 to the Nigerian company Alesia Marine, and she was renamed ORION K. She began service in 2024 on the Port Harcourt-Port Gentil line, thus connecting Nigeria with Gabon via the Gulf of Guinea.
PHOTOS (2023):
The ORION seen in Salamina, while undergoing the final stages of her conversion in order to begin service for Creta Cargo Lines (1/2023).
The ORION seen in Salamina, while undergoing the final stages of her conversion in order to begin service for Creta Cargo Lines (1/2023).
The ORION seen in the port of Lavrion during the late evening, having started service for Creta Cargo Lines on the Cyclades and on the Sporades (4/2023).
The ORION seen in the port of Lavrion during the late evening, having started service for Creta Cargo Lines on the Cyclades and on the Sporades (4/2023).
The ORION seen in the port of Lavrion during the late evening, having started service for Creta Cargo Lines on the Cyclades and on the Sporades (4/2023).
The ORION seen in Lavrion during the late evening, during what was her only season of operations in Greece (4/2023).
The ORION seen in Lavrion during the late evening, during what was her only season of operations in Greece (4/2023).
The ORION seen in Salamina, after having been withdrawn from service following her sale to the Nigerian company Alesia Marine (9/2023).
The ORION seen in Salamina, after having been withdrawn from service following her sale to the Nigerian company Alesia Marine (9/2023).
The ORION seen in Salamina, after having been withdrawn from service following her sale to the Nigerian company Alesia Marine (9/2023).
The ORION seen in what proved to be my final picture of the ship in Greece, as she subsequently left the country in order to begin a new career on the Gulf of Guinea, as the ORION K for the Nigerian company Alesia Marine (9/2023).