MS Rigel II

For other ships with the same name, see MS Scandinavia.

Rigel II is a cruiseferry owned and operated by the Greek shipping company Ventouris Ferries. The vessel operates between Bari and Durres.

History
Name	1980–1990: Visby 1990–1990: Felicity 1990–1997: Stena Felicity 1997–2003: Visby 2003–2003: Visborg 2003–2015: Scandinavia 2015–present: Rigel II
Owner	Ventouris Ferries
Operator	1980–1988: Rederi AB Gotland 1988–1990: Gotlandslinjen 1990–1991: Sealink British Ferries 1991–1993: Sealink Stena Line 1993–1996: Stena Sealink Line 1996–1997: Stena Line 1997–2003: Destination Gotland 2003–2015: Polferries 2015–present: Ventouris Ferries
Port of registry	1980–2003: Visby, Sweden 2003–2015: Nassau, Bahamas 2015–present: Limassol, Cyprus
Builder	Öresundsvarvet, Landskrona, Sweden
Yard number	278
Launched	25 January 1980
Identification	Call sign: 5BGR4 IMO number: 7826788 MMSI number: 209077000
Status	Laid up
General characteristics (after 1997 rebuild)
Class and type	Visby-class cruiseferry
Tonnage	23,842 GT
Length	146.10 m (479 ft 4 in)
Beam	25.90 m (85 ft 0 in)
Draught	5.71 m (18 ft 9 in)
Installed power	4 × B&W 8K45 GUC diesel engines
Propulsion	2 × controllable pitch propellers 2 × bow thrusters
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity	2,072 passengers 515 cars

Sister Ship

Rigel II is the first of two sister ships built. The second vessel currently operates for Grandi Navi Veloci as GNV Azzurra.

History

The vessel was launched in January 1980 as Visby for Rederi AB Gotland. She was the first of two identical ships built by Öresundsvarvet in Landskrona.

Visby entered service between Gotland and the Swedish mainland ports of Nynäshamn and Oskarshamn. In 1987, the contract to run ferry services to Gotland was awarded to Gotlandslinjen. Visby was chartered to the new operator until replaced by Nord Gotlandia in 1990.

In 1990, Visby was chartered to United Kingdom-based ferry operator Sealink British Ferries for service between Fishguard and Rosslare. Following a major refit in Tilbury, the vessel entered service in March 1990 as Felicity. She remained the largest ferry on the Irish Sea until the arrival of Isle of Innisfree in 1995. Felicity was renamed Stena Felicity in 1991 following the acquisition of Sealink British Ferries by Stena Line.

Stena Felicity's cinema was on one of the lowest deck, and close to the centre of the vessel between port and starboard, fore and aft. Adjacent were separate male and female saunas with Jacuzzis. Either was an ideal place to cross the St George's Channel in stormy weather because, being so low down and close to the centre of the ship, the rough sea state had very little effect.

In 1997, the charter of Stena Felicity ended. Her place on the Fishguard route was taken by Koningin Beatrix. Following a rebuild in Germany, the vessel re-entered Gotland service in 1998 under her original name of Visby. In 2003 Visby was renamed Visborg to release her name for a new vessel under construction in China.

In 2003, she was sold to Polferries and renamed Scandinavia for service between Gdańsk and Nynäshamn. The vessel's last trip between Nynäshamn and Gdańsk took place on 8 May 2015. The ship was sold to Ventouris Ferries and renamed to Rigel II.