The MS Aqua Jewel is a Greek passenger car ferry, which is part of the fleet of SeaJets Ferries. She was built in 2003 in Perama, Attica and was put into service at SeaJets in 2017 (She had previously been operated by other companies). The ship initially belonged to the shipowner Georgios Perogiannakis and in 2010 she was chartered by the Shipping Company of Lesvos - NEL Lines. Since 2017, she belongs to SeaJets, which occasionally charters her to Atlanticoline. At the time of her construction, the Aqua Jewel was the largest passenger ferry ever built in Greece, with a length of 108m (354feet). She no longer holds this record, since the construction of Hellenic Seaways' 141adj=onNaNadj=on-long Nissos Mykonos (now). The Aqua Jewel was intended as a mega-yacht named Nissilios, while the initial cost was about 25,000,000 US dollars.[1] The Aqua Jewel has a maximum speed of 18.5kn and a cruising (service) speed of lower than the maximum. Aqua Jewel facilities include two bars, a hospital and a helipad. On the 6th of February 2024 she was accidentally beached while exiting the port of Diakoftiou in Kythera.
Construction of the ship began in the late 1980s,[2] intended to be used as an 80-passenger yacht named Nissilios, and costing approximately $25 million. Following the ship's foreclosure due to unpaid debts, Sea Venture Cruises considered purchasing and renovating the Nissilios for use as a 400-passenger cruise ship named Sea Venture,[2] but ultimately acquired the Taygetos instead.
In 1998 the Nissilios was bought by Alpha Ferries of Georgios Perogiannakis and converted into a passenger and vehicle ferry with its current name. Although large sums of money were allocated for her safety, she had several problems due to her construction, which affected his later career. The use of aluminum on the shared decks made her quite light, while its small draft negatively affected the trip in bad weather conditions. Although the bow propeller was a waterjet type, something that was considered an innovation, it was quite weak. She was finally completed in September 2002.
The original plans were to launch the Cyclades mainland lines as a subsidy, but the proposal was rejected and so, in the spring of 2003 it was launched between Rafina-Andros-Tinos-Mykonos, with Captain Isidoros Mamidis as the captain. Although it stood out on the line, it did not take long for the disadvantages to become apparent, as a result of which it could not compete with the and, which, although older, were faster and more reliable and popular.[1]
In view of all the above problems, the shipowner decided to make some improvements to the ship in order to increase its reliability. In 2004, the bow was converted into a bulbous bow, but that was not enough to solve her problems.[1] Thus, in 2005 she was extended from 96m (315feet) to 108 meters by adding a 12adj=onNaNadj=on section on the Lamba shipyards of Elefsina, the left "loft" was removed, a traditional propeller was added to the bow and a second pair of stabilizers, as well as a separate passenger ramp. In 2006, a new exterior was added to deck 7, in 2007 a second rudder was added and the fuel was changed from marine diesel to marine fuel and in 2008 awnings were placed atop the bridge. In 2009, she stopped from her usual routes and in February 2010 it was launched between Lavrio-Agios Efstratios-Lemnos-Kavala. Then, she was chartered by NEL Lines and launched on Lavrio - Kea - Kythnos - Syros - Paros - Naxos - Ios - Sikinos - Folegandros - Kimolos - Milos route replacing the . In November 2014, she was laid-up in Drapetsona, due to a failure of the left engine.
While the ship was laid up, she could not be repaired, although NEL Lines assured the Ministry of Shipping to the contrary, while there were debts of the accrued 20 crew members, which remained unsecured.[3] In 2015, with the dissolution of NEL, she was transferred to the Tsagarinou shipyards in Perama, Attica and returned to Alpha Ferries, but it never managed to be utilized, although the shipowner planned to launch it between Volos-Skiathos-Skopelos-Alonissos. In mid-2017, she was purchased by SeaJets to replace the Aqua Spirit. Finally, she returned to operational condition and on 18 August 2017 she started operating. During the 2018 and 2019 summers, she was chartered in the Azores for Atlanticoline, while in March 2020 she was launched on the Piraeus-Kythira-Antikythira-Kissamos-Gythio route.
The Aqua Jewel has three ramps (two for vehicles and one for passengers), a main garage for vehicles, as well as "vehicle lofts", which are used mainly on the local route Gythio-Kythira-Antikythira-Kissamos. For passengers, she has escalators, living room, reception, 60 air-type seats, two lounges with tables, seats and sofas, two bars, a playground, open decks, 15 outdoor double cabins, 2 LUX cabins, as well as a hospital, a VIP room, a clothing store and special areas for the disabled.[4] In total, she has 8 decks.[5]
The ship is powered by two MAN-B&W engines with a combined power of 5680kW and a consumption of 1.3 tons per hour,[5] while she also has three Caterpillar electric motors.[1] The vessel has a length 108m (354feet), a width of 16m (52feet) and a draft of 4.5m (14.8feet). It has two rudders for flexibility in difficult ports and has pairs of stabilizers for sailing in rough seas. It also has a bulbous bow for better navigation in rough seas, weighing 20 tons, permanent fire extinguishing system, an elevator and two bow propellers, a traditional one and a waterjet type and has a total capacity of .[1]