The MS ''Arion'' was a passenger car

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

, which was part of the

NEL Lines NEL LINES ( el, Ναυτιλιακή Εταιρία Λέσβου, ''Naftiliaki Eteria Lesvou'') was established in 1972, as a company of popular base with shareholders the residents of Lesvos island and primary aim the purchase of a liner vessel ...

fleet. She was built in 1965 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and was put into operation by NEL in 1975 (She also operated in the past, under different names and owners). She took her name from

Arion Arion (; grc-gre, Ἀρίων; fl. c. 700 BC) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant ...

, a lyric poet from

Mithymna Mithymna () ( el, Μήθυμνα, also sometimes spelled ''Methymna'') is a town and former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of West Lesbos, of whic ...

(Molyvos) of

Lesvos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

. The ship initially operated in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

as the ''Nili'' and later as the Helsinki Express on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Later, as the ''Jamaica Queen'', she sailed in the Caribbean as a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

. She came to Greece in 1975 and received her final name. The ship was destroyed in 1981 by a bomb blast in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. She was towed out of port and burned completely. Finally, she was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

in 1984.

Facilities

''Arion'' had lounges,

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

night club A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

and double-bed cabins with bathrooms.

History

1960s, construction and first years

The ship was launched on 11 August 1964 and completed in June 1965 and originally operated in Haifa, before being renamed ''Helsinki Express'' and launched in the Baltic. Then (1966), she became ''Queen of Jamaica'' and set sail for the Caribbean for cruises, under the Pan American Cruise Lines. Finally, in 1969, she returned to the Mediterranean and returned to her original name.

1970s and coming to Greece

In 1975, she was bought by the Lesvos Shipping Company and renamed Arion, for $2.95, while on 7 November she made her maiden voyage to Mytilene, with captain Giannis Kaldis.Immediately, she was launched on the line

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, while she also secured the line Piraeus-Rhodes-Limassol-Haifa, thus connecting Greece with

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and Israel. The company advertised her as "The Floating Hotel".

1980s and fate

On 20 December, while sailing off Haifa, ''Arion'' was attacked by terrorists. A bomb exploded in the hands of Coast Guard bosun Stavros Goumas, who was killed, while the ship caught fire. This attack was never clarified and the individuals or the organization that carried it out were never clarified. The prevailing view is that the Israeli

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

secret service blew up the ship, in order to avoid any help to the

Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

. No other casualties were reported, as the crew managed to dock her in Haifa, disembarking all passengers. The fire brigade, however, failed to control the fire, so the ship burned completely. For almost three years she laid-up in Israel, with the fire extinguished on its own, and the ship was transported to Eleusis. The ship was never repaired, and was eventually sold in Barcelona, Spain for scrap. NEL replaced her with a similar ship, the ''Odysseas Elytis'', which, however, was not considered as successful as the ''Arion''.

References

External links

ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΟ ΑΡΧΕΙΟ ΕΡΤ - Παρθενική Άφιξη του "Αρίων" στην Μυτιλήνη.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arion, MS Ferries of Greece Ships built in Glasgow 1964 ships