Located on the Western Peloponnese, in the regional unit of Ileia, and in the region of Western Greece, the port of Kyllini is among the most important ports of the Ionian Sea. It is located just an hour away from Patras by car or by bus, and it is the main port that ensures a ferry connection of mainland Greece with the Southern Ionian Sea Islands, namely Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Ithaca. This is the case because the crossing to these islands is shorter, quicker, and far more convenient, in contrast with spending more time on ships leaving from ports such as Patras or Corinth. It can be reached by KTEL buses which make daily trips between the Ionian Islands and Athens or Patras. Due to its importance and status as the main port for ferries operating to the aforementioned islands, Kyllini has seen many historic ships operating on the Ionian Sea, many of which operated or have been operating there for many years. The list includes:
The PROTEUS of Tyrogalas Ferries (1973-2006: 33 years).
The IONIS of Ionian Lines and Tyrogalas Ferries (1985-1986; 1993-2015: 24 years).
The MARTHA of Miras Ferries (1968-1989: 21 years).
The ZAKYNTHOS I of ANEZ and Kefalonian Lines (1989-2007; 2012-present: 21 years).
The DIONISIOS SOLOMOS of Zante Ferries (1999-present: 16 years).
The DIMITRIOS MIRAS of Miras Ferries (1988-2001: 13 years).
The AINOS of Strintzis Lines (1978-1990: 13 years).
The IONIAN STAR of Tyrogalas Ferries and Levante Ferries (2003-present: 12 years).
The ANDREAS KALVOS of Zante Ferries (2003-2015: 12 years).
The ZAKYNTHOS of ANEZ (1979-1989: 10 years).
The EPTANISOS of Strintzis Ferries (2003-2011: 8 years).
The DELOS of Strinztis Lines (1989-1996; 7 years).
This clearly displays the stability of the Ionian Sea ferry service, which constantly gets renewed with modern ferries being bought through different periods (notably during 1977-1979, 2002-2003 and 2014-2015). Recently, the companies serving Zakynthos and Kefalonia have experienced various changes, by either becoming cooperators or simply by remaining rivals. In 1997, Ionian Ferries was established as a joint venture between the companies Tyrogalas Ferries (operating the PROTEUS and the IONIS, and later the IONIAN STAR), Miras Ferries and ANEZ, which were all based in Zakynthos. They therefore ensured that there would always be a very reliable service during both the summer and the winter season, and they also competed against Zante Ferries, which had deployed the Ro-Ro carrier AGIOS DIONISIOS S and then the DIONISIOS SOLOMOS in 1999. Beginning in 2001, after Blue Star Ferries, also known as the successor of Strintzis Lines, stopped serving the Kyllini-Kefalonia line (where her aforementioned predecessor has been established for almost four decades), the joint venture also began to serve the Kyllini-Kefalonia line on a full-time basis. In that same year, Miras Ferries ceased operations in Zakynthos and Zante Ferries also joined Ionian Ferries. ANEZ (operating the ZAKYNTHOS I) subsequently left the joint venture in 2006 because of financial issues. For most of the 2000s the main competitor of the Ionian Ferries joint venture was Strintzis Ferries (which was operating the EPTANISOS and the KEFALONIA), which was based on the Kyllini-Kefalonia line, but they also ended up ceasing operations, as they went out of business in 2012. Ionian Ferries then took over the Patras-Kefalonia-Ithaca line on which Strintzis Ferries also operated. In 2013, a new era of competition based in Kyllini began. Indeed, ANEZ returned with the ZAKYNTHOS I and rejoined Ionian Ferries, and a new company called Kefalonian Lines was established, after having bought the KEFALONIA from Strintzis Ferries. They entered service on the Kyllini-Kefalonia-Ithaca line and on the Kyllini-Zakynthos line, the latter having started in late 2013. The following year, they managed to take the ZAKYNTHOS I from ANEZ under charter, and they therefore began to enhance their presence in Zakynthos. That was until a new force emerged in late 2014, namely Levante Ferries. This was a newly-established company based in Zakynthos, which had converted a Korean-built ferry into a magnificent, luxurious and extremely modern ship known as the FIOR DI LEVANTE, entered the battlefield. Her entry to service was widely acclaimed, and she quickly became the favourite ship of passenger traveling along the Kyllini-Zakynthos line. Because of this, even established operators like Tyrogalas Ferries saw themselves out of the Ionian Sea within a few months. Indeed, the latter went on to deploy the IONIS on the Saronic Gulf, while the IONIAN STAR was acquired by Levante Ferries. As a result, the Ionian Ferries joint venture collapsed, and a new joint venture called Ionian Group was created between Levante Ferries and Zante Ferries. They are now the two companies that compete against Kefalonian Lines. Also, both Kefalonian Lines and Levante Ferries recently announced that they will buy one new ship each, meaning that the competition will grow even bigger in the near future.
Despite the intense competition and the significant fleet changes seen in recent years, Kyllini remains a pleasant and reliable port, with a big amount of space and a beautiful nearby beach, from which the view to the ferries is very impressive. Here are my pictures from the port, which happened to be taken in the middle of the transition from Ionian Ferries to Ionian Group during the summer of 2015, and a few days before the sale of the IONIAN STAR to Levante Ferries.
The IONIAN STAR was seen leaving the port of Kyllini, right after we had reached it with my family. She was now heading towards Zakynthos. Built in 1984 in Japan, she began operating in Greece for Tyrogalas Ferries in 2003.
The final Ionian Ferries 'fleetmates', namely the DIONISIOS SOLOMOS and the IONIAN STAR, together in Kyllini, during the final days of their operation under the joint venture. Both ships were built in Japan, and they both used to belong to the same company while operating there, namely Shikoku Chuo Ferry. They were also operating on the same service, namely on the Osaka-Kobe-Kawanoe-Niihama line, before the IONIAN STAR (then known as the NIIHAMA 2) was sold to the South Korean company Kukjae Express in 1994. The DIONISIOS SOLOMOS (then known as the ROYAL KAWANOE) left Shikoku Chuo Ferry in 1999 and joined Zante Ferries, becoming their first-ever conventional ferry in the process. The IONIAN STAR reunited with her on the Ionian Sea when she entered service under Tyrogalas Ferries in 2003.
The DIONISIOS SOLOMOS seen loading passengers and vehicles for Kefalonia. Built in 1990 in Japan, she has been operating on the Ionian Sea under Zante Ferries since 1999.
The IONIAN STAR seen from further distance, while heading towards Zakynthos. She was the third ship to join Tyrogalas Ferries, following the PROTEUS in 1973 and the IONIS in 1993. The former operated for Tyrogalas Ferries for 33 years, until she was sold in 2006 to ANES Ferries, for whom she still operates today, as she is currently on the Volos-Skiathos-Skopelos-Alonissos-Mantoudi line on the Sporades.
Now it is the turn of the DIONISIOS SOLOMOS to leave Kyllini. Just a few days after this picture was taken, she was moved to the Patras-Kefalonia-Ithaca line, following the establishment of the Ionian Group joint venture. She spent the remainder of the 2015 season there, and she then headed back to the Kyllini-Zakynthos line and to the Kyllini-Kefalonia line. She had operated on the Patras-Kefalonia-Ithaca line during the 2013 season (back when Ionian Ferries was still performing this service), as well as for a few weeks towards the end of the summer of 2004, when the KEFALONIA (then owned by Strintzis Ferries) which was operating there experienced technical issues.
The DIONISIOS SOLOMOS seen as she heads towards Kefalonia.
The DIONISIOS SOLOMOS seen exiting the port of Kyllini in order to head towards Kefalonia.
Just like in Piraeus, the Greek shipping companies in Kyllini have many ticket and vending kiosks which advertise and promote their services. Of course that tradition is also present in Kyllini, and all the companies make big efforts in order to encourage passengers to select their ships.
The ticket kiosk of Ionian Ferries for the Kyllini-Zakynthos line seen during one of its final days in operation. It was later replaced by a sign of Ionian Group.
The ticket kiosk of Ionian Ferries for the Kyllini-Kefalonia line.
Levante Ferries has a modern ticket office painted in yellow, which is the company's main colour. It also features an electronic table displaying the company's schedules, being the first of its kind to have this in Kyllini.
The ticket kiosk of Kefalonian Lines for both Kefalonia and Zakynthos, which has been painted in the company's blue colours.
Currently not operating, this is normally the kiosk of ANEZ, the owner of the ZAKYNTHOS I. After the ship was chartered to Kefalonian Lines, the latter vacated the building but took advantage of the sign at the top of the kiosk to advertise their Zakynthos itineraries, which began in late 2013.
A very interesting picture of a lorry advertising Miras Ferries. It was a company that operated in Zakynthos from 1968 to 2003. Miras Ferries operated three ships, namely the MARTHA (built in 1968 in Greece), which was the first-ever passenger ferry that was deployed in Zakynthos, operating on the Kyllini-Zakynthos line until 1989, then on the Rafina-Marmari-Karystos line from 1990 to 1992 and then on the Neapolis Voion-Kythira-Antikythira line from 1992 to 1996, before being laid-up in Salamina for the next 18 years and being sent to the scrapyards in 2014; the THESEUS, which never operated on the Kyllini-Zakynthos line, but was deployed on the Piraeus-Gerakas-Kyparissi-Monemvasia-Neapolis Voion-Kythira-Antikythira line from 1990 to 1996, before spending the next 10 years under lay-up in Perama before being sold for scrap in 2006; and the DIMITRIOS MIRAS, named after her owner, built in 1972 in France as the cargo ship MONACO before she was sold to Greece in 1983 and operated under the names ION and OLYMPIA for Kratigos Shipping, until she was bought by Miras Ferries in 1988, being renamed and converted to a passenger ferry. She was deployed on the Kyllini-Zakynthos line from 1988 to 2001, before being sold in 2003 to Saos Ferries, which renamed her NONA MARY and deployed her on the Aegean Sea (serving the Cyclades, the Sporades, Evoia, and the Northeast Aegean Sea) before selling her for scrap in 2012. The lorry also features the company's old telephone number.
Despite not being the biggest port in Greece, Kyllini is a vital place for the connection of Zakynthos and Kefalonia (and also Ithaca) with the rest of Greece, and has proven that it has known many great ships that operate by using this port as their home base.