I am Alexandros Vrailas, a 23-year-old Greek with a huge passion for my country's coastal service sector and ferry market. I know everything about the Greek ferries, high speed craft and small passenger ships, including their history, their details, as well as their companies and their schedules.

Enjoy my photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The website's logo since 2017, designed by my good friend Fares Ben Sliman to whom I am truly grateful.

 

About myself:

 

I was born on 16 June 1999 to Greek parents. I have a twin brother and a younger sister. My family originates from the island of Corfu, but we have been based in Athens ever since I was born. I graduated from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom with a Bachelor's degree in International Management in 2021, followed by a Master's degree in Shipping, Trade and Finance in City, University of London, in 2022. I am currently undertaking my compulsory military service in Greece, and I then plan to work in the shipping industry. I have spent my summer holidays in the islands of Aegina on the Saronic Gulf and Zakynthos on the Ionian Sea. Besides the latter, I have also visited several islands on both the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea. I have had great times in my life, thanks to my amazing family and the all the good friends and people I have met, and I pleased to say that, wherever I have been, I have always had a great time.

 

About my passion for shipping:

 

I began having a passion shipping at a very young age, and I can remember that my first contact with ships was when I was 4 years old, in Zakynthos, after I saw the beautiful orange-painted hull of the DIONISIOS SOLOMOS of Zante Ferries. I also enjoyed seeing the ships arriving in, docking in and departing from the port of Aegina, while sitting in the bench of a nearby restaurant. There, I was amazed by how the ships operate, load vehicles and passengers before their subsequent departures to other islands. Even though I love cargo shipping, the passenger sector, and most notably the coastal service, has been among my favourite sectors in shipping. When traveling to the Greek Islands each summer, building on from my passion, I eventually decided to learn everything about every passenger ship in Greece (name, company, history, service, operations, technical characteristics). I now know almost every detail about the Greek coastal service. I began to take pictures of ships in 2012, when I received my first camera. I found during that same year several Greek websites and online forums dedicated to the developments of the Greek coastal service and rumours regarding the market. Inspired by these platforms and having taken several pictures of Greek ferries myself, I decided to present my passion for shipping through my own website. I truly want to be involved in shipping when I am older, and my dream is to actually own a shipping company in Greece. I am also grateful to my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles who have constantly helped me and supported me with this passion, offering me any information, picture, or trip related to the Greek coastal service.

 

About this site:

 

The Greek Coastal Service website was launched on 15 June 2015. The idea of creating the site however originates from January 2015. Indeed, two months prior, I had lost all photos I had taken from my Greek summer trips between 2012 and 2014 following a computer crash. Therefore, all of the many pictures of ships that I had taken during that period were lost forever. The only exceptions were a few pictures that I had posted on the AIS website. To protect them from any sudden and permanent loss, I decided to place them on my own personal site, so that they could stay there forever. The site was set up following the end of the 2014-15 school year, and I have constantly updated it since, with new pictures and updated historical information on ships. Since August 2015, it also includes a blog, which has posts (usually published on a monthly basis) that relate to a specific trip with a ship, visits that I have made in major Greek ports or Greek islands, important news related to the market, as well as farewell tribute posts to ships retiring from service. It is overall a great way to share my passion, my pictures and my knowledge with everyone else. Do not be surprised if I see a new ship this summer and her pictures are posted on the site.

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This site is dedicated to my amazing family, to my closest friends, as well as to all people involved in the sector of shipping throughout the entire country of Greece.