SuperSeaCat
Encyclopedia
High-speed craft
A high-speed craft is a high speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry.The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and even monohull designs have become popular.Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferries, but the...
between Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
during the years 2006—2008. It was jointly owned by Sea Containers and the Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
-based Aegean Speed Lines
Aegean Speed Lines
Aegean Speed Lines is a Greek ferry company operating fast ferries between Pireaus and the Cyclades.-History:Aegean Speed Lines were formed in 2005 as a joint venture between Sea Containers and the Eugenides Group. Aegean Speed Lines were the first ferry company in Greece to use a European Union...
.
The term SuperSeaCat had been used as name for Sea Containers' non-catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
fast ferries since 1997. From the year 2000 onwards the company operated one SuperSeaCat (later three) under Silja Line
Silja Line
Silja Line is a Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy – today Tallink Silja Oy – is a subsidiary of Tallink Grupp, handling marketing and sales for Tallink and Silja...
brand between Helsinki and Tallinn. In 2006 Sea Containers sold Silja Line to Tallink
Tallink
Tallink is an Estonian shipping company currently operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden, Latvia to Sweden and Finland to Germany. They also own Silja Line and a part of SeaRail...
, a competing Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
ferry operator. However, the Silja Line SuperSeaCat's could not be included in the sale as by acquiring them Tallink would have had a dominant market position in Helsinki—Tallinn fast ferry traffic. As a result Sea Containers established SuperSeaCat as a new subsiadiary to continue traffic on the route. In January 2008 SeaContainers sold 50% of the SuperSeaCat operations to the Greece-based Aegean Speed Lines
Aegean Speed Lines
Aegean Speed Lines is a Greek ferry company operating fast ferries between Pireaus and the Cyclades.-History:Aegean Speed Lines were formed in 2005 as a joint venture between Sea Containers and the Eugenides Group. Aegean Speed Lines were the first ferry company in Greece to use a European Union...
.
On 15 October 2008 SuperSeaCat ceased operations due lack of funding and increased competition on the service, and on 20 October 2008 SuperSeaCat went bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
.
Ships
- HSC SuperSeaCat Three
- HSC SuperSeaCat Four
External links
- SuperSeaCat on Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish)
- SuperSeaCat
- Sea Containers