HSC ''Elite Jet'' is a

high-speed ferry A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popul ...

operated by

Seajets Seajets is a Greek/ Cypriot ferry company operating passenger and freight ferry services in the Aegean Sea. History Seajets was established in 1989. Today, it operates a fleet of 14 high speed vessels, and 3 conventional Ro-Ro ferries which serv ...

and operated on

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

- Dún Laoghaire route and seasonally on the Fishguard - Rosslare service. She was marketed by

as the ''Stena Express''. In 2019 was sold by Seajets and underwent repairs at Salamis. The ship was set to be launched on the Santorini – Rethymno route in 2023.

Design and construction

''Elite Jet'' was built in 1996 by Incat in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and is one of a series of wave-piercing

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

s to be constructed by the company. Construction began in May 1995 and was completed in May 1996.

Career

She briefly served on the English Channel for

P&O Stena Line P&O Stena Line was formed in 1998 after the merger of P&O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd and the Dover and Newhaven operations of Stena Line. History The idea for a joint service was initially put forward in July 1996 and in October of the same ...

as HSC ''Elite''. In 1998 she was transferred to

's Fishguard - Rosslare service and renamed ''Stena Lynx III''. She operated this route on a seasonal basis, spending the winter months laid-up, usually at

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

. Stena Line purchased the vessel in 2004. The same year, ''Stena Lynx III'' developed serious technical problems, and spent a large part of the summer season out of service. She returned to her seasonal role on the southern Irish Sea on 14 May 2009, for another summer operating alongside . She operated the

– Dún Laoghaire route running twice daily from 15 March 2010 until the end of May 2010, when operated the route with one round trip per day. She was then laid up in Dún Laoghaire until 29 June 2010 when the vessel moved to Rosslare. She operated her seasonal summer route from 10 July 2010 until September 2010. On 15 September 2010, she once again returned to operate the Holyhead–Dún Laoghaire service, after ''Stena Explorer'' was withdrawn from the route for the winter season of 2010. ''Stena Lynx III'' operated the route until 9 January 2011, in which she then had her 2011 refit. She then returned to Holyhead, before moving to Dún Laoghaire for lay up until June 2011. At the end of June 2011, she left Dún Laoghaire to begin her summer seasonal service on the Rosslare – Fishguard route. The ferry began her summer service on the Rosslare – Fishguard route on 1 July, and ended on 4 September 2011, she then returned to Dún Laoghaire for lay up. In October 2011 the ''Stena Lynx III'' was renamed ''Sunflower 2''. While en route to Asia she suffered a major engine failure in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. After this incident she was repaired at La Coruna, Spain. In 2016 she operated in South Korea with the new name ''Orange 1''. In 2017 the ship was chartered by the Government of Trinidad & Tobago for service on the inter-island service between

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

and

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

. In 2019 renamed ''Rapidlink Jet'' and was sold by

and moored at Salamis, Greece. In October 2022, it was announced that the ship will be launched on Santorini – Rethymnon line for the 2023 season, connecting Crete with Cyclades. She set sail on her maiden voyage on 26 May 2023. In May 2023 the ship renamed ''Elite Jet''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elite Jet Ships of Seajets Ferries of the United Kingdom Ferries of the Republic of Ireland Incat high-speed craft 1996 ships Ships built by Incat