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MS ''Rigel III'' is a cruiseferry owned by the Greek-based 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 ...
. She was built in 1979 as MS ''Turella'' by Wärtsilä Turku shipyard, Finland for
SF Line SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genres ...
for use in Viking Line traffic. In 1988 she was sold to
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 ...
, becoming MS ''Stena Nordica''. In 1996, she was transferred to Lion Ferry and was renamed MS ''Lion King''. In 1998, she was sold to
Tallink Tallink () is an Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea r ...
and renamed MS ''Fantaasia''. As ''Fantaasia'' she also sailed under charter to
Algérie Ferries Algérie Ferries or Entreprise Nationale de Transport Maritime de Voyageurs (ENTMV) is a state-owned Algerian shipping company. The company operates passenger and freight services between Algeria, France and Spain. Routes Algérie Ferries operate ...
, Comanav and
Kystlink Nye Kystlink AS, trading as kystlink, was a Norwegian ferry shipping company that operates between Langesund in Norway and Strömstad, Sweden and Hirtshals, Denmark. The company was wholly owned by Taubåtkompaniet, owned by Ole T. Bjørnevi ...
during the years 2005–2008. Following the end of her charter to Kystlink in 2008 the latter company bought her, renaming her MS ''Kongshavn''. After Kystlink was declared bankrupt in late 2008 the ship was laid up until sold to the Croatia-based
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 ...
operator Blue Line International, and operated on their service between Split and Ancona as MS ''Regina della Pace''. In 2017 the ship was sold to the Greek-based 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 ...
and is currently operating on the route
Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
- Durres.


Concept and construction

SF Line SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genres ...
begun planning for a new larger ferry for the Viking Line traffic between South-West Finland and Sweden in the mid-1970s. The main person in charge of the design of the new ship was SF Line's founder and CEO Gunnar Eklund, with her son Nils-Erik Eklund and the company's technical inspector Kaj Jansson participating in the design process. Experiences from SF Line's previous new buildings — particularly of 1973 — heavily influenced the design of the new vessel, which was drawn with large car-decks. However, the new vessel was planned to be twice as large in terms of gross register tonnage as ''Aurella'', and she was to have twice as many cabins. In 1976, SF Line asked for tenders from various shipyards around the world for construction of a 1,700-passenger, 540-car ferry. The cheapest bid, 80 million Finnish
markka The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...
(20 million United States dollar by exchange rates of the time), was made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan who outbid the Finnish Wärtsilä shipyard by 36 million markka. On 13 September 1977, SF Line signed a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for construction of a ferry. However, the funding of the project was subject to approval by the
Bank of Finland The Bank of Finland ( fi, Suomen Pankki, sv, Finlands Bank) is the central bank of Finland. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Sweden's Riksbank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of France. History ...
and as at the time the employment level in Finland's shipyards was low, the Bank of Finland decided not to grant its approval to the project's funding with hopes of forcing the company to order a ship from a Finnish shipyard. After prolonged negotiations between both SF Line and the Bank of Finland as well as SF Line and Wärtsilä, SF Line placed an order with Wärtsilä on 17 March 1978. In the end the cost of the ship from Wärtsilä was approximately 15% more expensive than it would have been if built by Mitsubishi, despite a
subvention A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
of 17 million markka from the Bank of Finland. As with most previous new buildings of Viking Line, the details of the ship's interior design were entrusted to
Robert Tillberg The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, ho ...
of Tillberg Design. Due to the ship's larger size, her onboard services could be greatly upgraded from the previous generation ships, with accommodation and public spaces close to the standards of the time's cruise ships. For the first time on a Viking Line ship trafficking between continental Finland and Sweden, the ship included an à la carte restaurant in addition to the traditional buffet ( Rederi AB Slite's cruise ship had an à la carte restaurant since 1976, but she only trafficked between the Åland islands and Sweden). SF Line's new ship was also given large conference facilities by the day's standards, capable of hosting 80 people. The basic design of the new building was apparently successful, as even before she was completed SF Line's fellow Viking Line members Rederi AB Slite and Rederi Ab Sally asked access to the ship's plans so that they could order additional ships of the same design. However, in the end Slite opted to order a slightly larger vessel from Meyer Werft in Germany, while SF Line refused to give Sally access to the new ship's plans and as a result Sally too placed an order with Meyer Werft. The keel of SF Line's new building was laid on 10 August 1978.Sjöström, Brzoza (2009). p. 258. She was launched from drydock on 24 November 1978 and christened MS ''Turella'' by Margareta Lundqvist, the widow of the major SF Line shareholder Fraenk Lundqvist. On 18 January 1979, SF Line ordered a sister ship for the ''Turella'' from Wärtsilä, which eventually entered service in 1980 as . The construction of the ''Turella'' was completed on 4 June 1980 and she was delivered to SF Line on the same date, 11 days earlier than agreed.


History


1979–1987: Viking Line service

Immediately following delivery ''Turella'' entered service on Viking Line's Turku
Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
route, sailing parallel with Rederi AB Slite's slightly larger newbuilding that entered service on 14 June 1979. ''Turella'' remained on the Turku–Stockholm service until 2 June 1980, when she was transferred to the shorter and more freight-intensive Naantali–Mariehamn– Kapellskär route following the delivery of Rederi Ab Sally's new —that was even larger than ''Turella'' or ''Diana II''—for the Turku service. On the Naantali–Kapellskär service ''Turella'' replaced the ageing and initially sailed parallel to her brand-new sistership . For the summer season of 1981 ''Rosella'' and ''Diana II'' switched routes, and from that year onwards ''Turella'' again had ''Diana II'' as her routemate.


1988–1996: Stena Line and Lion Ferry service

In September 1988, SF Line took delivery of the new MS ''Amorella'', which replaced ''Rosella'' on the Turku–Stockholm route. Originally SF Line had agreed to sell the ''Rosella'' to
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 ...
upon delivery of the new ship. However, due to the ''Amorella'' being delivered seven months behind schedule the ''Rosella'' could not be delivered to Stena when originally agreed. In the end the ''Turella'' was sold instead of ''Rosella'', as it was generally in a better condition and easier to convert for the traffic Stena planned for her. After rebuilding at Cityvarvet,
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, the Turella re-emerged as MS ''Stena Nordica'' (a name carried by many Stena Line ships over the years). ''Stena Nordica'' was placed a route connecting Gothenburg to
Fredrikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The town h ...
in Denmark and
Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
in Norway. She also occasionally served on the Gothenburg– Kiel route when the ships normally sailing that route were docked. In 1996, ''Stena Nordica'' was rebuilt at Öresundsvarvet,
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 ...
, Sweden, transferred to the fleet of Stena's subsidiary Lion Ferry and renamed MS ''Lion King''. During the next 1½ years she sailed on routes
Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Socia ...
(Sweden) – Grenå (Denmark) and
Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...
(Sweden) – Gdynia (Poland).


1996–2005: Tallink service

At the end of 1997, ''Lion King'' was sold to
Tallink Tallink () is an Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden to Sweden and Finland to Sweden. It is the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea r ...
, who renamed her MS ''Fantaasia'' and placed her on the HelsinkiTallinn route (where she served alongside her old Viking Line fleetmate MS ''Meloodia''). In 2002, after the delivery of the new MS ''Romantika'', the ''Fantaasia'' was moved to the Tallinn–Stockholm route, where she sailed alongside another old fleetmate from the Viking Line days, MS ''Regina Baltica''.Fakta om Fartyg: M/S ''Viking Song'' (1980)
retrieved 10 October 2007
In 2004, the new MS ''Victoria I'' replaced Fantaasia on the Tallinn–Stockholm route, and from the start of April of the same year ''Fantaasia'' opened a new Helsinki–Tallinn– St. Petersburg route for Tallink. Due to a rise in port fees issued by the Russian government and due to visa regulations not being prognosed to get any better between Russia and the European Union as it had been presumed when the line was started, the line was terminated by Tallink on 2 January 2005.


2005–2009: charters and Kystlink service

Following the collapse of the St. Petersburg traffic, the ''Fantaasia'' was swiftly chartered to
Algérie Ferries Algérie Ferries or Entreprise Nationale de Transport Maritime de Voyageurs (ENTMV) is a state-owned Algerian shipping company. The company operates passenger and freight services between Algeria, France and Spain. Routes Algérie Ferries operate ...
for a duration of nine months, during which she sailed between France and Algeria. After the end of the charter she spent five months laid up in Tallinn until she was placed on Tallink's new
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
–Stockholm route in April 2006. However after little over a month of traffic she was replaced by the larger ''Regina Baltica'', and subsequently chartered to Comanav until April 2007. Following the end of charter to Comanav, she was again chartered to Algérie Ferries until October 2007. Following the second Algérie Ferries charter, the ''Fantaasia'' was chartered to the Norway-based
Kystlink Nye Kystlink AS, trading as kystlink, was a Norwegian ferry shipping company that operates between Langesund in Norway and Strömstad, Sweden and Hirtshals, Denmark. The company was wholly owned by Taubåtkompaniet, owned by Ole T. Bjørnevi ...
for three months (with an option for three additional months) from October 2007 onwards to replace their MS ''Pride of Telemark'' that was out of service following an accident when the ship rammed the breakwater at Hirtshals, Denmark. Before entering service for Kystlink, ''Fantaasia'' was docked at Cityvarvet, Gothenburg. On 15 November, the Swedish Maritime Authority Sjöfartsinspektionen deemed the ship unsafe and prohibited it from leaving Cityvarvet until 18 faults found during the inspection were fixed. Twelve of the faults were considered severe, including several permanently open watertight doors, a non-functional loudspeaker system, blocked emergency exists and non-functional winches used for lowering lifeboats. According to Tallink, the inspection was made while refitting of the ship was still in process, which they cited as the reason why several onboard systems were turned off-line and normal safety procedures were not observed. On 11 December, the ship entered service with Kystlink on its Langesund–Hirtshals and Langesund– Strömstad routes. On 15 April 2008, the ''Fantaasia'' was sold by Tallink to Kystlink, with delivery date set for June of the same year. She was eventually delivered to her new owners on 30 June 2008, subsequently re-registered in Norway and renamed MS ''Kongshavn''. However, Kystlink ceased their traffic on 21 October 2008, with the ''Kongshavn'' subsequently laid up at Sandefjord, Norway. In March 2009, ''Kongshavn'' was drydocked in Fredericia, Denmark.


2010- 2017: Blue Line service

On 23 December 2009 the Croatian ferry operator Blue Line International was reported to have purchased the ''Kongshavn'', with the intention of using her on their service between Ancona and Split. Blue Line took delivery of the ship on 17 March 2010, renamed her ''Regina della Pace'' and initially re-registered her under the Maltese flag. Prior to entering service with Blue Line on 19 April 2010, the ''Regina della Pace'' was re-registered to Panama. The vessel continues in service and was seen in July 2012 on that route. In 2017 the ship was sold to Ventouris Ferries and renamed Rigel III


References


External links


Blue Line official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigel III Ships built in Turku Cruiseferries 1978 ships