The Board of Directors of Attica Enterprises S.A. is pleased to announce the delivery of Superfast VIII, the second of a series of four sister vessels built at Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG, Kiel, Germany. This is the fourth delivery from the same yard this year, following Superfast V and Superfast VI at the beginning of the year and Superfast VII in May.
Superfast VIII will join Superfast VII as of Monday, 16th July, 2001, in the direct and fast, daily link of Germany to Finland, between the ports of Rostock, Germany and Hanko, Finland, a service performed in a mere 22 hours, compared to 32-34 hours required by most of the ships in the trade.
During the delivery ceremony, Alexander Panagopulos, President and Managing Director of Superfast Ferries S.A., said: "We are proud to see our Superfast Ferries, that are now eight, to be so demanded in the Adriatic Sea and I am pleased to report that we get the same messages from our new operation in the Baltic Sea. Once again, I wish to thank the people at Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG for the excellent products that they deliver to us and I am looking very much forward to the deliveries of Superfast IX and Superfast X that will join our Baltic ships for the new 18-hour ferry service between Germany and Sweden due to start at the beginning of 2002."
Sponsors for the naming of Superfast VIII were the famous Finnish rock music band Leningrad Cowboys, who have been very popular in various countries of Europe and elsewhere for their unique appearance and inspired music themes. To date, the Leningrad Cowboys have toured successfully in over 60 countries worldwide including Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, USA and the United Arab Emirates.
As a contribution to the charitable efforts of the Childrens University Hospital in Helsinki, and as suggested by the Leningrad Cowboys, Superfast Ferries arranged for 50 children patients to travel on Superfast for a mini cruise to Germany.
For next year, the Attica Group expects the delivery of eight more brand new ferries. Two of them, Superfast IX and Superfast X, will be delivered by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG and will join Superfast VII and Superfast VIII in the Baltic trade introducing a new route between Sweden and Germany between Rostock and Sodertalje, near Stockholm. Two more Superfast ferries, Superfast XI and Superfast XII are being built at Flender Werft, Lubeck, Germany and are due for delivery in the first half of 2002. A two-ship service is also due to start next year in May between Rosyth in Scotland and Zeebrugge in Belgium, connecting Scotland to mainland Europe in a direct and fast daily overnight service.
Four more ferries ordered by the Groups subsidiary, Blue Star Ferries, all designed for the domestic market are due for delivery in the course of 2002. They will be employed in the Cycladic and Ionian islands connection to mainland Greece.