Minoan Vessel Sold for

Minoan Lines of Crete has sold its 2002-built fast ropax ferry Ariadne Palace to Italy's most colourful ferry operator, Moby Lines, for what industry watchers are labelling an exceptional price.

Minoan reported the price as Eur 90m ($114m) and said it expects to make a capital gain of about Eur 11.3m from the deal.

Masters Shipping of Athens, the broker that acted in the deal, said a 10% deposit had already been paid.

In comparison, another Italian operator paid $65m for a near-sister vessel three years ago. The building price for the Ariadne Palace was widely reported as being close to $70m when the order was placed in 1999.

The 212 metre ship, which has a claimed 31.5 knot speed and has capacity for 1,000 passengers with garage space for 580 cars or 113 trucks and 104 cars, was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.

It is currently operating between Patras and Venice as one of five vessels in Minoan's northern Adriatic network.