''Rigel II'' is a

cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...

owned and operated by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

shipping company

Ventouris Ferries Ventouris Ferries is a Greek company that operates ferry services from Italy to Greece and Albania. Routes Ventouris Ferries operates three routes across the Adriatic Sea. * Bari - Durres (Rigel II & Rigel III & Rigel VII) * Bari - Corfu - Ig ...

. The vessel operates between Bari and Durres.

Sister Ship

''Rigel II'' is the first of two sister ships built. The second vessel currently operates for Grandi Navi Veloci as .

History

The vessel was launched in January 1980 as ''Visby'' for

Rederi AB Gotland Destination Gotland is a Swedish ferry-line that runs state-subsidised domestic ferries from Nynäshamn and Oskarshamn to Visby on the island of Gotland. It is a wholly owned daughter company of Rederi AB Gotland. The fleet consists of four hi ...

. She was the first of two identical ships built by

Öresundsvarvet Öresundsvarvet was a Swedish shipyard in Landskrona that was established in 1915 and largely phased out between 1980 and 1982. Foundation Öresundsvarvet was constituted on 16 December 1915 by Gothenburg shipbuilder, Arthur Du Rietz. During a ...

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

. ''Visby'' entered service between Gotland and the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

mainland ports of

Nynäshamn Nynäshamn is a locality and the seat of Nynäshamn Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 13,510 inhabitants in 2010. While interest in the area as a potentially useful port grew from the mid 19th Century, it was only with the opening of the ...

and

Oskarshamn Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010. History Etymology Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then chang ...

. In 1987, the contract to run ferry services to Gotland was awarded to Gotlandslinjen. ''Visby'' was chartered to the new operator until replaced by ''Nord Gotlandia'' in 1990. In 1990, ''Visby'' was chartered to

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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

-based ferry operator

Sealink British Ferries Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland. Ports served by the company included: Port of Dover, ...

for service between

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...

and Rosslare. Following a major refit in

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

, the vessel entered service in March 1990 as ''Felicity''. She remained the largest ferry on the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

until the arrival of ''Isle of Innisfree'' in 1995. ''Felicity'' was renamed ''Stena Felicity'' in 1991 following the acquisition of Sealink British Ferries by Stena Line. ''Stena Felicity''s cinema was on one of the lowest deck, and close to the centre of the vessel between port and starboard, fore and aft. Adjacent were separate male and female saunas with

Jacuzzi Jacuzzi Brands LLC (; ), through its subsidiaries, is a global manufacturer and distributor of branded baths, hot tubs, pools, saunas and, formerly, aircraft. Founded in 1915 by the Italian family of the same name, Jacuzzi is a federally regist ...

s. Either was an ideal place to cross the St George's Channel in stormy weather because, being so low down and close to the centre of the ship, the rough sea state had very little effect. In 1997, the charter of ''Stena Felicity'' ended. Her place on the Fishguard route was taken by ''Koningin Beatrix''. Following a rebuild in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the vessel re-entered Gotland service in 1998 under her original name of ''Visby''. In 2003 ''Visby'' was renamed ''Visborg'' to release her name for a new vessel under construction in China. In 2003, she was sold to

Polferries Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operator. The Polish Baltic Shipping Company was established on 31 January 1976 as a state-owned shipping company. Under the operating name ''Polferries'', the company runs ferry routes across the Baltic Sea ...

and renamed ''Scandinavia'' for service between Gdańsk and Nynäshamn. The vessel's last trip between Nynäshamn and Gdańsk took place on 8 May 2015. The ship was sold to

and renamed to ''Rigel II''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigel II Cruiseferries Ships built in Landskrona 1980 ships Ferries of Poland Ferries of Sweden