MS Mega Express Four
Encyclopedia
MS
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Mega Express Four is a fast ropax ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
owned by Corsica Ferries
Corsica Ferries
Corsica Ferries and Sardinia Ferries are marketing names used by Corsica Ferries, a France-based ferry company that operates traffic to and from the islands of Corsica and Sardinia...
and operated on their routes from Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
and Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
to Ile Rousse. She was built in 1995 by Schichau Seebeckwerft
Schichau Seebeckwerft
Schichau Seebeckwerft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.-History:...
in Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for Superfast Ferries
Superfast Ferries
Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 5 ultra-modern car-passenger ferries, offering daily connections between Ancona and Bari and Patras and Igoumenitsa...
as MS Superfast II. Between 2003 and 2006 she sailed for TT-Line (Australia)
TT-Line (Australia)
TT-Line Company Pty. Ltd. is a company operating ferries from Tasmania to the mainland of Australia since 1985. The company was separated from the department of Transport Tasmania in 1993, becoming a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Tasmania.- 1985-1992 :TT-Line was...
as MS Spirit of Tasmania III.
Concept and construction
Superfast II was the second ship built for Attica GroupAttica Group
Attica Holdings S.A. is an operator of international ferry services in Europe. The Group’s main operations are with its subsidiary Superfast Ferries which began in 1995 with the launch of its first ships, Superfast I & Superfast II...
's subsidiary Superfast Ferries
Superfast Ferries
Superfast Ferries is a Greece-based ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopulos. Superfast Ferries is a member of Attica Group and operates 5 ultra-modern car-passenger ferries, offering daily connections between Ancona and Bari and Patras and Igoumenitsa...
for their Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
services from Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
to Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
. Her construction was identical to that of MS Superfast I.
1995—2003: Superfast II
Superfast II entered service on 11 June 1995 on Superfast Ferries' PatrasPatras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
—Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
route. In April 1998, following the delivery of the new , Superfast II was transferred to the Patras—Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa , is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit Thesprotia. Its original ancient name used to be Titani....
—Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
route. From October 1999 until January 2000 she returned to the Patras—Ancona route as a replacement for that was undergoing repairs after an onboard fire. In July 2003 Superfast II was sold to TT-Line (Australia)
TT-Line (Australia)
TT-Line Company Pty. Ltd. is a company operating ferries from Tasmania to the mainland of Australia since 1985. The company was separated from the department of Transport Tasmania in 1993, becoming a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Tasmania.- 1985-1992 :TT-Line was...
, with a delivery date set in September of the same year. TT-Line (Australia) had already purchased Superfast III and Superfast IV the previous year, renaming them and , respectively.
2003—2006: Spirit of Tasmania III
TT-Line took over their new ship on 30 September 2003 and renamed her Spirit of Tasmania III. She subsequently sailed to HobartHobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, where she was refitted for her new service. On 15 January 2004 she entered service on TT-Line's new Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
—Devonport
Devonport, Tasmania
-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...
route. Passenger demand for the new service proved smaller than had been expected, and the low passenger numbers combined with rising fuel costs led to the Government of Tasmania
Government of Tasmania
The form of the Government of Tasmania is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
's decision to terminate the service in August 2006. As a result Spirit of Tasmania III was put up for sale.
On 17 July 2006 Spirit of Tasmania III was sold to Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
operator Corsica Ferries
Corsica Ferries
Corsica Ferries and Sardinia Ferries are marketing names used by Corsica Ferries, a France-based ferry company that operates traffic to and from the islands of Corsica and Sardinia...
for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
65 million (A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
111 million). The ship left on her final voyage for TT-Line on 27 August 2006.
2006 onwards: Mega Express Four
Corsica FerriesCorsica Ferries
Corsica Ferries and Sardinia Ferries are marketing names used by Corsica Ferries, a France-based ferry company that operates traffic to and from the islands of Corsica and Sardinia...
took over Spirit of Tasmania III on 5 September 2006 and renamed her Mega Express Four. She subsequently sailed from Australia to Europe. She entered service for her new owners in November of the same year. Between January and April 2007 she was rebuilt at the Megatechnica shipyard in Perama
Perama
Perama is a port city and a suburb of Piraeus that lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains. It creates the western terminus of the Port of Piraeus and there is also a port that provides ferry services to Salamis. The town has only one main road connecting Lambrakis and Ralli Avenues,...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
with an expanded aft superstructure. She returned to service on 4 May 2007.