HSC ''Rapid Link Jet'' is a high-speed ferry 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's Holyhead -

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

route and seasonally on the

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 ...

- Rosslare service. She was marketed by Stena Line as the ''Stena Express''. In 2019 was sold by Seajets and now is laid-up in Perama,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. The ship is set to be launched on the Santorini - Rethymno route.

Design and construction

''Rapid Link Jet'' was built in 1996 by

Incat Incat Tasmania is an Australian manufacturer of high-speed craft (HSC) catamaran ferries. Its greatest success has been with large, sea going passenger and vehicle ferries, but it has also built military transports and since 2015 it has built s ...

in Australia, and is one of a series of

wave-piercing A wave-piercing boat hull has a very fine bow, with reduced buoyancy in the forward portions. When a wave is encountered, the lack of buoyancy means the hull pierces through the water rather than riding over the top, resulting in a smoother rid ...

catamarans 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 sam ...

as HSC ''Elite''. In 1998 she was transferred to Stena Line's

- Rosslare service and renamed ''Stena Lynx III''. She has since operated this route on a seasonal basis, spending the winter laid-up, usually in

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, she developed some 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 the ''Stena Europe''. She operated the Holyhead -

route running twice daily from 15 March 2010 until the end of May 2010, when the HSC ''Stena Explorer'' 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 the HSS ''Stena Explorer'' was withdrawn from the route for the winter season of 2010. She operated the route until Sunday, 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. She began her summer service on the Rosslare - Fishguard route on Friday 1 July, and ended on Sunday 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, after this incident she was repaired in La Coruna. In 2016 she operated in Korea with the new name ''Orange 1''. In 2017 it 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, su ...

and Port of Spain. In 2019 renamed ''Rapid Link Jet'' was sold by

and now is laid-up in Perama,

. On October 2022, it was announced that she will be launched on on Santorini - Rethymnon line for the 2023 season, connecting Crete with Cyclades. She is set to sail for her maiden voyage on May 26.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapid Link 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