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History

In Crete, protests broke out after the Typaldos Lines car ferry SS Heraklion capsized due to a series of violations of safety regulations. The ship sank on her way from Chania to Piraeus on 8 December 1966, resulting in the death of more than 200 people.³

In the aftermath, a few hundred Cretans (traders, free-lancers, pensioners, farmers), following a proposal by the Association of Economists of the Chania Prefecture with the support of the Metropolitan of Kissamos and Selinos, and Irineos Galanakis, implemented their idea to found a multi-shareholder shipping company.⁴

Therefore, on

• 1967 - On 10 April, ANEK Lines was founded with its head offices located at Chania. At the beginning only born Cretans could hold stocks in ANEK Lines
• 1970 - The company's first F/B vessel Kydon started servicing the route Piraeus-Chania
• 1973 - The F/B's Candia and Rethymo started servicing the route Piraeus-Iraklion
• 1978 - The F/B Kriti started daily servicing the route Piraeus-Chania⁵
• 1987 - The F/B Apterastarted servicing the route Piraeus-Chania
  • New route Crete-Thessaloniki started (route closed then suddenly)⁶
• 1989 - The F/B's Lato and Lissos started servicing the route Patras-Corfu/Igoumenitsa-Ancona⁷
  • New blue-yellow corporate identity introduced⁸
  • The F/B Kydon was sold
• 1992 - ANEK Lines new flagship the F/B El. Venizelos started servicing the route Greece-Italy.
  • F/B Talos started servicing the route Patras-Trieste
• 1994 - New route opened, Patras-Igoumenitsa-Bari, but already ceased the following year⁹
• 1997 - The F/B's Kriti I & Kriti II started new nonstop Patras-Ancona service¹⁰
• 1998 - Share-capital increase and initial public offering (IPO) for the company's stocks in the Athens Stock Exchange
  • F/B "Sokofles V" starts operating the route to Northern Italy (Patras-Trieste)¹¹
  • Take over some stakes in DANE¹²
• 1999 - The company's stocks started trading on the Athens Stock Exchange on 21 January
  • ANEK Lines purchases 50% of the share-capital of LANE (Ag. Nikolaos), with the assignment of the F/B Talos
  • ANEK Lines merge with RETHYMNIAKI and integrate their ships F/B Prevelis and F/B Arkadi into the fleet
  • ANEK Lines ITALIA s.r.l.was founded. ANEK Lines holds 51% of its shares
  • ANEK Lines buys 16.5% of NEL Lines¹³
  • ANEN was founded. ANEK Lines holds 20% of its shares

• 2000 - The F/B Lefka Ori was purchased, fully renovated and started servicing the route Patras-Ancona
  • ANEK Lines increase its shares to 41,9% of the share-capital of DANE
  • ANEK Lines buys 50% of the share-capital of ETANAP
  • ANEK Lines buys 62% of the share-capital of LEFKA ORI A.B.E.E.
  • Contract signed with the Norwegian shipyard Fosen Mek Shipyard for the shipbuilding of two new buildings (first time for ANEK) with delivery dates October 2000 and May 2001 with an option for two more
  • Delivery of the newly constructed Olympic Champion servicing the route Patra - Ancona which completes the route Igoumenitsa - Ancona in 15 hour
  • ANEK Lines increases its share-capital (25% = 9.5 billion drachmas / 27.88 million EUROs)
  • The F/B's Candia and Rethymno are sold
  • ANEK Lines increases its share-capital in NEL to 19.05%
• 2001 - Established online connections to the international booking systems START, MERLIN, AMADEUS and SIGMA
  • Delivery of the second newly constructed H/S/F Hellenic Spirit servicing along with the H/S/F Olympic Champion the route Patra - Igoumenitsa - Ancona reducing the travelling time from Igoumenitsa - Ancona to 15 hours
  • The former Patras-Ancona operating ships, Kriti I and Kriti II, were deployed then on Patras-Triest and Ravena-Catania (Kriti I)¹⁴
• 2002 - The F/B's Kriti I & Kriti II deployed on the Piraeus-Heraklion service¹⁵
• 2003 - ANEK Lines set up a ro/ro operations called ANEK CARGO for the routes Piraeus–Heraklion, Patras–Bari and Patras–Venice¹⁶
• 2005 - In May ANEK sold its 16.5% shares in NEL Lines to Edgewater Holdings with a €0.5 million profit¹⁷
  • In November the F/B Aptera was sold with a €2.5 million net profit¹⁸
  • The new Patras-Venice route is added to the route to Northern Italy¹⁹
  • The construction of the company's building is completed as well as the relocation of administrative services to the company-owned, functional establishment in Chania(Karamanli avenue former Souda Avenue)²⁰
• 2007 - In February the company's latest establishment in Piraeus is inaugurated, housing the Directorate of Commercial Exploitation, the Directorate of Technical Services and the Piraeus main agency²¹
• 2008 - In April the P/S-F/S Prevelis entered service on the Piraeus-Paros-Naxos-Ios-Santorini line²²
  • In July 2008 the P/S-F/S Lissos entered service between Piraeus and Chios-Mytilini²³
  • In September 2008 the P/S-F/S Elyros entered service between Piraeus and Chania²⁴
  • In December 2008 ANEK was awarded a prize as "The Best Passenger Line of the Year 2008" during the 5th Greek Shipping Awards ceremony hosted by Lloyd's List²⁵
• 2010 - In April, ANEK established a new subsidiary AIGAION PELAGOS THALASSIES GRAMMES SHIPPING COMPANY (Chania), to charter and operate the east Aegean and specifically the Piraeus-Syros-Mykonos-Ikaria-Fourni–Samos route and in September this new company undertook the Heraklion route which it is servicing by chartering Parent Company's vessels²⁶
• 2011 - On 1 June, ANEK Lines started a 3-year joint service agreement with Attica Group (Superfast, Blue Star Ferries) for the route Patras–Igoumenitsa–Ancona and Piraeus–Irakleion under the name ANEK-Superfast. Therefore, ANEK deploy its ferry Olympic Champion from the Ancona service (now a joint venture operations with ANEK's Lefka Ori and the Superfast VI and XI) to the Irakleio service (now a joint venture operations with Superfast XII)²⁷
• 2012 - On 14 June, F/B Lato deployed in the international line Bari–Durrës in cooperation with Adriatica Lines for the summer season.
• 2014 - F/B Ierapetra L. deployed in the international line Bari–Durrës in charter from ANEK Italia for year-round service. A major engine-room fire on 29 November 2014 when underway with crew only aboard caused substantial damage to the ship which returned to Brindisi Italy. No injuries or fatalities occurred. The vessel is currently out of operation²⁸
• 2014 - Due to the 2014 Libyan conflict, Libya's House of Representatives has been housed on the ANEK's ferry Elyros which has been moored off the coast of Tobruk in eastern Libya²⁹
• 2015 - ANEK operates the Sophocles V as Kydon on the Piraeus-Chania. The Olympic Champion returns to the Adriatic, and the El. Venizelos operates in the Northern Aegean in order to transport Syrian refugees arriving in Chios and Lesvos

Fleet

The ANEK Lines fleet is composed of six motor Ro-Ro/passenger ferries, of which three are in use, two on long term charter and one is laid up.

Laid up

On long term charter to Foreign Companies

Former Fleet

• Kydon 1968-1989 (scrapped)
• Candia 1973-2000 (scrapped in 2011 as Jabal Ali 1)
• Rethymnon 1973-2000 (scrapped in 2009 as Jabal Ali 2)
• Zakros 1977-1985 (scrapped)
• Kriti 1978-1996 (scrapped in 2004 as Express)
• Aptera 1985-2005 (scrapped in 2011 as Morning Sun)
• Lato 1987-2015 (scrapped in 2018 as Talaton)
• Lissos 1987-2011 (scrapped in 2011 at Alang India)
• Talos 1995–1999 as Ierapetra L 2008-2015 (as Aqua Blue for Seajets since 2016)
• Kriti I 1996-2025 (sold for scrap in 2025)
• Kriti II 1996-2025 (sold for scrap in 2025)
• Arkadi 1999-2002 (sank as Pella for Arab Bridge Maritime Company in the Red Sea in 2011)
• Olympic Champion 2000-2023 (as Superfast III for Superfast Ferries since 2024)
• Hellenic Spirit 2001-2024 (as Superfast IV for Superfast Ferries since 2025)
• Coraggio 2012-2013 (as Athena Seaways for DFDS Seaways since 2013)
• Forza 2012-2016 (as Forza for Acciona Transmediterranea since 2016)
• Audacia 2013-2014 (as Rizhao Orient for a Chinese company since 2014)
• Norman Atlantic 2014-2014 (caught fire on 28 December 2014 near Corfu. Laid up for 4 years in Bari; scrapped in Aliaga in 2019)
• Asterion 2016-2018 (as Connemara for Brittany Ferries since 2018)

ANEK-Superfast

On 7 June 2011 ANEK Lines and Superfast Ferries created a joint venture for the Piraeus-Heraklion and the Patra-Igoumenitsa-Ancona routes with two RO-PAX ships on the first route (the ANEK-owned Olympic Champion and the Superfast-owned Superfast XII) and three in the second route (the ANEK-owned Hellenic Spirit and the Superfast-owned Superfast VI and Superfast XI).³⁴

Routes

• Greece domestic
  • Piraeus–Chania (El. Venizelos and Elyros)
  • Piraeus–Heraklio (Asterion II and Kissamos)

Affiliates

ANEK Group comprises ANEK Lines, its subsidiaries, and companies in which it holds a minority stake greater than 10%:

• ANEK HOLDINGS S.A. (Greece, Crete - Chania): 99.5%, tourism, participation in other companies, consulting, etc.³⁵
• ΑΝΕΚ LINES ITALIA srl (Italy, Ancona): 49%, factoring and representation of shipping companies³⁶
• LANE S.A. (Lane Lines, Greece, Crete - Ag. Nikolaos): 50.11%, passenger ferry shipping³⁷
• AIGAION PELAGOS - THALASSIES GRAMMES SHIPPING COMPANY (Crete, Chania): 99.90%, sailing company under Law 959/79³⁸
• T.C. SAILING (Greece, Crete - Chania): 97.5% sailing company under Law 959/79³⁹
• ETANAP S.A. (Greece, Crete - Chania/Stylos): 50%, production and distribution of bottled water⁴⁰
• LEFKA ORI S.A. (Greece, Crete - Chania/Stylos): 62%, production and trade of plastic bottles and packaging products⁴¹
• CHAMPION FERRIES Ltd (Marshall Islands): 70%, shipping⁴²

Former affiliates and investments:

• NEL Lines 16.5% (shares sold 2005 to Edgewater Holdings)⁴³
• DANE Sea Lines 41.87% (stopped operations in August 2004 after financial difficulties)⁴⁴

RETHYMNIAKI (took over and finally merged into ANEK Lines in 1999)⁴⁵ ANEN 19.36%

Accidents and incidents

On 28 August 2018, at 23:45 (UTC+03:00), El. Venizelos, one of ANEK's fleet, caught fire soon after leaving Piraeus for Chania, with 875 passengers and 140 crew members on board. The ferry was able to return to Piraeus, with no injuries.⁴⁶

External links

• Official website
• ANEK Lines (ΑΝΕΚ) - Athens | (capital.gr profile)

References

1. "Anek Lines S.A. (ANEK) | Complete Financial Reports 2024". financialreports.eu. Retrieved 6 May 2025. https://financialreports.eu/companies/anek-lines-sa/ ↩

2. "ΟΛΟΚΛΗΡΩΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΣΥΓΧΩΝΕΥΣΗΣ ΜΕ ΑΠΟΡΡΟΦΗΣΗ ΤΗΣ "ΑΝΩΝΥΜΗ ΝΑΥΤΙΛΙΑΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ Α.Ε." ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ "ATTICA A.E. ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΩΝ"" (PDF) (in Greek). Retrieved 4 December 2023. https://www.attica-group.com/attachments/article/6418/OLOKLHROSH_THS_SYGXONEYSHS_ME_APOROFHSH_THS_ANEK_APO_THN_ATTICA.pdf ↩

3. "SS Heraklion (+1966)". Wrecksite. Affligem, Belgium: Adelante EBVBA. Retrieved 3 February 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?58849 ↩

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29. Goldhammer, Zach (13 September 2014). "On the Greek Ferry Housing Libya's Government". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 September 2014. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/on-the-greek-ferry-housing-libyas-government/380145/ ↩

30. "M/S SUN FLOWER TSUKUBA (1998)". www.faktaomfartyg.se. Retrieved 21 March 2019. http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/sun_flower_tsukuba_1998.htm ↩

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