BELOW: An interesting comparison of ANEK's Aptera and Arkadi side by side. The Aptera is one of the more charming of the former Japanese ferries now operating for this company, having been built with a relatively attractive profile and then managed to keep it when she came to Greece. The shbip was built in 1973 as Pegasus, being renamed Osaka in 1983. She came into the hands of ANEK in 1985, initially operating as Chania before becoming Aptera in 1987. The conversion after arrival in Greece seems to have centred around converting the existing superstructure spaces - the two lower main passenger decks originally were largely window-less. The main addition to the profile was the area in front and directly below the bridge which has been extended slightly on the uppermost deck only.
The ship as built bears some relationship to Minoan's venerable El Greco and Daedalus, the three apparently originally being sister ships. This is immediately visible when comparing the Aptera and El Greco, although Daedalus has acquired a new funnel which masks the similarities slightly. |
