RIGEL II (ΡΙΓΚΕΛ ΙΙ)

-Ventouris Ferries 

Built in 1980 (age 45). Registered in Limassol. Current line: None (under refit in Durrës)

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The cruiseferry RIGEL II was built in 1980 in Sweden, as the VISBY for the Swedish company Rederi Ab Gotland. She was deployed on the Nynäshamn-Visby-Oskarshamn line on the Baltic Sea. In 1986 her service was restricted to the Nynäshamn-Visby line. In 1988 she was chartered to the Swedish company Gotlandslinjen and she was once again operating on the Nynäshamn-Visby-Oskarshamn line. After having been replaced by the NORD GOTLANDIA in 1990, she was chartered to the British conglomerate Sealink British Ferries. She underwent a refit in Tilbury and she was renamed FELICITY. She was subsequently deployed on the Fishguard-Rosslare line on the Irish Sea, where she was the largest ferry at the time. In 1991 Sealink British Ferries was acquired by the Swedish giants Stena Line, which resulted in the creation of a new company called Sealink Stena Line, while the FELICITY was renamed STENA FELICITY. In 1992 the company was renamed Stena Sealink Line, while in 1996 all of its fleet were transferred to the core operations of Stena Line. The charter of the STENA FELICITY ended in 1997, after which she returned to Rederi Ab Gotland, which by that time had started trading as Destination Gotland. She was once again renamed VISBY, and following a lengthy refit in Bremerhaven, she resumed service on the Nynäshamn-Visby-Oskarshamn line in 1998. In 2001 her service was once again restricted to the Nynäshamn-Visby line. In 2003 she was renamed VISBORG, before being taken out of service by her company. She was sold during that same year to the Polish company Polferries. She was renamed SCANDINAVIA and she was deployed on the Gdańsk-Nynäshamn line, thus connecting Poland with Sweden on the Baltic Sea. In 2015 she was sold to the Greek company Ventouris Ferries, and she was renamed RIGEL II. After a small refit in Igoumenitsa, she began service on the Bari-Durrës line on the Adriatic Sea, where she remains today. She was the flagship of Ventouris Ferries from 2015 to 2020, when the RIGEL VII began operations for the company.

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