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With Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian
Presents the delightful …
Ex MTS Jason, Eros
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Part One - MTS Eros
The
Typaldos Lines MTS Eros is seen here as built
Introduction: MTS Stella Oceanis, Jason, Atlantis
Three inter-island passenger/car ferries were built by the famed
Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Runiti dell’ Adriatico at Monfalcone as an
Italian war reparation to the Greek government on behalf of the Hellenic Tourism Organisation. These ferries were to be operated by different companies and
placed on various inter island services. The three sisters were pleasant design
wise, but were they were remarkable ships for their time as they provided a new
and upcoming propulsion technology that would prove to be a massive cost saving
device in the future lessening the use for tugs in most ports.
Keels for all three were laid
down in 1964. MTS Eros was the second of the trio, the first being Aphrodite,
operated by Kavounides Shipping Co, and the third ship was the Adonis, operated
by Nomikos Lines. Built in 1965, the MTS Eros commenced its career with
Typaldos Lines sailing from
Each ship was designed to carry
414 passengers in accommodated in deluxe or tourist class cabins or aircraft
style seats in two rooms. Her public rooms included a spacious lounge on boat
deck, the main dinning room, and a lounge and bar on promenade deck, whilst up
on navigation deck, just aft of the funnel is the swimming pool and the
spacious lido deck. The garage extended throughout garage deck with a stern
door as well as side doors.
MTS Eros sailed three times per week from
Specifications - Eros:
Tonnage:??????????????? 4,300
GRT
Length:????????????????? 318ft
Width:??????????????????? 52.2ft
Drought:???????????????? 15.5ft
Engines:???????????????? Sulzer
type Diesels, 5,500 BHP
Screws:????????????????? Single
& bow thrusters
Speed:?????????????????? Service
speed 18 knots, maximum 19 knots
Passengers:??????????? 414
- accommodated as follows:
??????????????????????????? 109
in deluxe cabins
??????????????????????????? 66
tourist class cabins
??????????????????????????? 64
in aircraft style seats located in two lounges
??????????????????????????? Fully
air conditioned / Denny Brown Stabilizers
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Part Two - MTS Jason
The Eros was refitted to become the luxury cruise ship
MTS Jason, whilst her sister the Aphrodite
became the much loved Sun Lines MS Stella Oceanis and the MTS
Adonis became the K Lines cruise ship MS Atlantis.
Jason’s sister Aphrodite was renamed Stella Oceanis.
She had her promenade deck fully closed in
During her conversion her garage doors removed but
also her she was lengthened by 16 feet. All of her accommodations were greatly
improved and new cabins were added on garage deck previously and on a lower
deck.
MTS Jason was placed under the management of the
well known Epirotiki Cruise Line, a company that did more than just provide a
cruise vacation, but offered a cruise combined with a land based adventure.
Each cruise had the appropriate historians and lecturers onboard. These cruises
were intimate and were of the highest standard, although Jason was never
considered to be stuffy and over pretentious. Jason offered the perfect
environment whilst Epirotiki Line supplied their classic friendly environment,
service and fine Greek cuisine etc.
The helmsman on board MTS Jason late in November 1971
Photograph kindly provided &
? by Hartmut Paas
The ship was simply beautifully decorated with
themes from Greek mythology scattered throughout her public rooms. Almost all
cabins are outside and are able to be converted sitting rooms by day.
In 1992 she received a refit utilising the unique
skills of the American designer Arminio Lozzi who left his artistic touch
throughout this fine ship. Jason continued sailing the
Jason in her Epirotiki livery and is still seen with all
her eight lifeboats
In 1997 Sun Lines and Epirotiki
Lines eventually merged to become Royal Olympic Cruises. As The Olympic
Federation complained the? name had to be
changed and it became Royal Olympia Cruises, however, the new management
decided to rid themselves of the very ships that had made their respective
companies the great success’ it had been and they decided to build two
super fast monohull ships. These ships proved to be a financial disaster and
ROC were rapidly loosing their past passengers who
simply did not want to sail on these super fast ships.
Above
and Below: Here we see the Jason still in
service, but her days were now coming to an end with the company fast
Note that by 1999 her aft lifeboats had been removed
In addition ROC commenced to sell all their smaller ships including the Jason. However, many of their other ships were sold to the breakers, including Stella Oceanis one of Jason’s original sisters. Many in the industry believe that bad management and the decisions made was the reason why in 2004 Royal Olympia Cruises collapsed in a financial heap. In 2005 the MTS Jason was ready to head to far more exotic places.
Specifications - Jason:
Tonnage:??????????????? 5,250
GRT
Length:????????????????? 101.6m
/ 333ft
Width:??????????????????? 15.9m
/ 52.2ft
Drought:???????????????? 4.1m
/ 15.5ft
Engines:???????????????? Sulzer
type Diesels - 5,500 BHP
Screws:????????????????? Single
& bow thrusters
Speed:?????????????????? Service
speed 17 knots, maximum 19 knots
Decks:?????????????????? 6
Passengers:??????????? 272
(302 all berths)
Total cabins:?????????? 136
Crew:???????????????????? 139
??????????????????????????? Fully
air-conditioned / Denny Brown Stabilizers
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Part Three - MS Ocean Odyssey
A company postcard of their new ship the MS Ocdean Odyssey
Late 2005 the Jason was
purchased by the Derwent Ocean Ltd. S.A. of
Her public rooms are stunning, from the elegant
Seven Seas Restaurant forward on Dionysos (Promenade) deck, or Trade Winds lounge and
intimate bar located aft. Amidships is the casino,
library, shop and reception. Forward on Apollo (Boat) deck is the colourful Ocean Sports bar
& Night Club with the walls clad with large TV screens.
She has become famed for her superb service. As one
passenger wrote in a review, “It has to be said that the waiters and the
entire corps of stewards aboard were, to a man, an utter tribute to their ship;
they simply could not do enough for their guests, predicting most of our whims
and jumping to comply with those they had not foreseen.”
In many ports the ships tenders are used, alternatively
they are provided by the port
Indian Ocean Cruises operated 6/8
& 14 night cruises out of Goa and Cochin cruising exotic Indian Ocean
Islands and Sri Lanka and those voyages were reasonably popular with the
English as well as American, Australian and New Zealand holidaymakers.
February 2009: I am pleased to announce that I have been in contact with the ships new owners and she is about to go into dry dock to be upgraded and made SOLAS 2010 compliant and receive yet another refit.
Update: Sadly having undergone the refit this venture was unsuccessful and
later that year the ship was sold to the breakers. She soon headed for
Last refit:??????????????? 2006
Tonnage:??????????????? 5,500 GRT
Speed:?????????????????? 15 Knots
Passengers:???????????? 250 (max)
Cabins:?????????????????? 125
Crew:???????????????????? 120 (International)
???????????????????????????? Fully
air-conditioned / Denny Brown Stabilizers
But we shall always have wonderful Memories of a fine small ship!
MV Ocean Odyssey seen whilst in
Found on www.shipsnostalgia.com by
Jonathan Thurston -
View
the … MS Ocean
Odyssey Photo Page
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Who is the Author of ssMaritime?
Commenced
in the passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960
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