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Minoan Lines is a dominant company in the passenger ferry sector that has been growing fast for the last 30 years.

Currently, the company is in the process of realizing its most ambitious investment program with the building of new and technologically advanced highspeed ferries, enabling the upgrading of its services. This sets the company on a consistent pursue of its future prospects and strategic goals.

Its logo is derives from The Lily Prince fresco of Knossos

History

1972

The course to success is set on May 25, 1972 with the signing of the company's Articles of Association featuring a registered capital of 40 million Greek Drachmas.

1974

Minoan Lines creates quite a stir by entering the competition in the marine sector. F/B Minos is purchased the same year and deployed on Heraklion - Piraeus route, on July 5.

1976

The second ship of Minoan Lines, the ultra- fast & modern F/B Ariadne becomes the flagship of Minoan Lines' dynamism.

1978

F/B Knossos is deployed on Heraklion - Piraeus route,

F/B Minos is deployed on Piraeus - Chania route. The two major ports of Crete are linked daily to the mainland of Greece

1981

Minoan Lines takes a big step. The company decides to enter the international competition. F/B El Greco inaugurates the company's services to Ancona (Italy) from the Greek port of Patras.

1985

Having established its position in the shipping market, Minoan Lines decides to renew its fleet. This starts with the replacement of F/B Minos by F/B Festos.

1986

Expansion of activities: the company deploys Ro-Ro Agia Galini on the Heraklion - Piraeus route for the safe and secure transport of long vehicles, trucks, and tank-tracks carrying all kinds of load.

1987

One more ship is added to the Patra - Ancona route. In response to the increasing demands for this particular service, Minoan Lines deploys the modern, within the European standards, F/B Fedra on the Patra - Ancona route.

1988

Minoan Lines deploys a third ship, F/B King Minos, on the Patra - Ancona route. With this ship the company sharpens competition and claims the top position in the market.

1990

Minoan Lines takes one more step further: the F/B Ariadne is deployed on the route Greece - Italy - Turkey, thus joining the coast of Ionia with Greece and Europe.

By deploying F/B Kazantzakis on the Heraklion-Piraeus route, Minoan Lines establishes the quality standards for this service.

1991

The deployment of the state - of - the - art F/B Daedalus on the Patra - Ancona route creates quite an impact in the passenger shipping sector. During that year, Minoan Lines links Crete with Ancona and Western Europe with the refurbishment of F/B El Greco.

1992

Minoan Lines is characterized as a pioneer in the shipping sector by covering its service performance to Italy in just 24 hours. The new and modern F/B Erotocritos combines speed and comfort while she also offers a new service -- Camping On Board -- addressing the needs of passengers traveling in their camper, caravan or trailer.

1993

This year marks the beginning of the most ambitious investment plan for the company - the building of a state - of - the - art fleet with highly sophisticated features combining safety with speed and comfort. The chain of High Speed Ferries starts with the H/S/F Aretousa securing for the company the top position in the list of the major players in the Greek passenger shipping sector.

1994

A national heritage building in the city of Heraklion, property of the National Bank of Greece, is purchased by Minoan Lines and refurbished in a most elegant manner to function as the company's Headquarters and house its administrative operations. The building had suffered considerable damage during World War II.

1995

With this delivery of H/S/F Aretousa the first newbuilding vessel, the company now owns eleven ships. Comfort, luxury, safety and speed, of H/S/F Aretousa portray Minoan Lines' dominant and competitive role in the shipping sector worldwide. The service from Patra to Ancona is now cut down to 22 hours only! The response of the public is amazing.

1996

The ambitious investment plan of Minoan Lines "shocks" the status quo in the Mediterranean coastal shipping sector. By ordering H/S/Fs Ikarus and Pasiphae the company's investment capital rises to 56 billion Greek Drachmas.

1997

The H/S/F Ikarus is launched in Sweden on May 5 and arrives with great pride and enthusiasm in Greece, from the FOSEN shipyard in Norway. In cooperation with other Greek ship - owners Minoan Lines establishes the company, Minoan Lines Highspeed Ferries S.A. during the same year. The Catamaran Ferry Highspeed 1 and F/B Ariadne are deployed on the Piraeus - Cyclades route.

1998

Minoan Lines sets a new record with its listing in the Athens Stock Exchange. The response from the public is unprecedented and inspires the company for even more ambitious investment plans.

The third Highspeed Ferry, H/S/F Pasiphae, is delivered. Along with H/S/Fs Ikarus and Aretousa, the total investment value of the company is now in the range of 80 billion Greek Drachmas, the greatest in the Greek maritime sector ever.

One more ambitious goal is set in motion: the building of two more H/S/Fs, Knossos Palace and Festos Palace in Italy. These two identical vessels consist an unrivalled pair and can be characterized as the fastest, largest, and most luxurious ferries of their kind worldwide. Their competitive speed advantage enables them to cover the distance from Heraklion to Piraeus in just 6 hours.

However, the ambitions of the company are virtually unlimited. Two more highspeed ferries are ordered to Italian shipyards for scheduled service in the Adriatica Sea. These ferries were commissioned to the reputed designers "De Jorio".

The investment project of Minoan Lines includes two more high speed ferries (Ro-Pax). These were commissioned to Samsung shipyards of South Korea and are designed with an operational capability of 28.5 NM/hour.

By the end of 1998 the company resources 3 billion Greek Drachma from existing shareholders to increasing its share capital. There is no denying that the company commands the trust of the investment public.

1999

The image of Minoan Lines is that of a new, vibrant and great company.

It is the year of unprecedented growth. Hellas Flying Dolphins emerges from the joint venture of Ceres Hydrophils, Minoan Lines Highspeed Ferries and Minoan Lines.

Air Greece and Aegean Airlines pull their forces together to create the biggest air carrier in Greece.

After the strategic alliance and eventually merge of the two airlines, Minoan Lines becomes one of the major shareholders in Aegean Airlines. The company wields greater leverage in the market by offering combined services to the public.

One more Highspeed Ferry is on order with Samsung shipyards and two more on Ficantieri (Italian shipyards), thus raising the cost of company's investments to 1 billion USD since 1995.

2000

Public consensus regarding the safety and quality standards is now officially ratified. The company is certified per ISO 9002 by the Greek State representing the Germanischer Lloyd organization. This certification is an acknowledgement of the company's Safe and Quality of Passenger/Vehicle Transport at Sea.

H/S/F Prometheus is launched at Samsung shipyards and one more highspeed vessel is placed on order with the same Korean shipbuilders.

H/S/F Knossos Palace, a modern and fast ferry worldwide, is delivered by the Italian shipbuilder Ficantieri.

2001

The ambitious investment program of Minoan Lines is advancing in full speed with the delivery of H/S/F Prometheus deployed on the Patra - Corfu - Igouenitsa - Venice route.

F/B Kazantzakis, which was deployed on the Heraklion - Piraeus route was sold. By selling older vessels, the company's vision in renewing its fleet is progressing fast.

H/S/F Festos Palace, a sister ferry to H/S/F Knossos Palace, is delivered from Ficantieri shipyards. The "unrivalled" pair was deployed on the Heraklion - Piraeus route altering drastically the quality of services provided, combining luxury, speed and safety.

Minoan Lines announces its cooperation with the leading Italian Maritime Shipping Group Grimaldi as soon as the H/S/F Festos Palace is received. This cooperation provides new opportunities in Minoan Lines' strategy to expand beyond the Adriatic Sea in new European routes, linking Italy (port of Genoa) with Tunisia and Malta, followed by a further expansion into the French port of Marseille.

The course to success continues with the delivery of H/S/F Oceanus from Samsung shipyards. This ferry is deployed on the Patra - Igoumenitsa - Venice route.

2002

H/S/F Pasiphae Palace

MINOAN LINES' investment program is proceeding as planned with the delivery of H/S/F EUROPA PALACE on Friday, May 10, 2002 from the Italian shipyards of Ficantieri. H/S/F EUROPA PALACE is another addition of an ultra modern highspeed ferry to the company's fleet, strengthening the company's position in the Adriatic market and contributing to the further upgrading of the Greek shipping sector.

The H/S/F EUROPA PALACE, the sister vessel of the H/S/F OLYMPIA PALACE, is the fourth and last ultra modern passenger ferry for MINOAN LINES from the Italian shipyards of Fincantieri. The vessel has being deployed on the Patra - Igoumenitsa - Ancona sea route on May 14, 2002.

Following the delivery of the H/S/F ARIADNE PALACE in the near term from the shipyards of SAMSUNG HEAVY INDUSTRIES, the ambitious and very important investment program with the construction of 7 new vessels of total cost 670 million will be completed, and the Company will enter this new era with a fully fleet of vessels combining speed, comfort and luxury on board.

The deployment of H/S/F ARIADNE PALACE 1. (ex. H/S/F OCEANUS) on the new sea route Genoa - Malta - Tunis, on May 31, 2002, opens up new business horizons for Minoan Lines on the West Mediterranean with the strategic cooperation with the Italian Grimaldi group.

Fleet