TALOS (ΤΑΛΩΣ)
-Creta Cargo Lines
Built in 1971 (age 53). Registered in Piraeus. Current line: None (under refit in Drapetsona)
The Ro-Ro carrier TALOS was built in Norway in 1971. She was delivered as the STARMARK to Starmark Reederei, the German subsidiary of the Finnish company Avomeri Line, but she was then chartered during the 1971 season to the Swedish company Svenska Lloyd, being deployed on the Tilbury-Gothenburg line on the North Sea. In 1972 she was chartered to the Swedish company Tor Line, and she was deployed on the Rotterdam-Gothenburg line. She returned under the full-time management of Avomeri Line in 1974, and she was deployed on the Stockholm-Hanko-Helsinki line on the Baltic Sea. That same year she ran aground in Helsinki, but she was quickly repaired and she resumed service. In 1981, after her company went bankrupt, she was sold to the Greek company Manta Line. She was renamed RORO TRADER, and she began cargo operations in various destinations on the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea while being based in Piraeus. In 1985 her company ceased operations, and she was sold to the Dutch company Holland-Sweden Line. She was renamed NIEKERK and she made her return to the Rotterdam-Gothenburg line. Her spell did not last long as her owners encountered financial and legal problems, and as a result she was chartered in 1986 to the British company Belfast Freight Ferries. She was deployed on the Heysham-Belfast line on the Irish Sea. She was bought by Belfast Freight Ferries the following year, and she was renamed SPHEROID. She was lengthened in 1990, and she continued to serve the Heysham-Belfast line until 2000, when she was laid-up in Birkenhead and listed for sale. She was bought in 2001 by the Greek company Mykonos ANE, and she was renamed MYCONOS. After a small conversion in Drapetsona, she was deployed on the Piraeus-Andros-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Limnos line. Her name was changed to MYKONOS in 2005. In 2008 she began operating on the Piraeus-Andros-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Skyros-Chios-Mytilene-Limnos line. In 2010 she was chartered to NEL Lines and she began operating under the NEL Lines Cargo division on the Piraeus-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Ikaria-Samos line, while in 2011 her service was extended to the Piraeus-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Ikaria-Samos-Chios-Mytilene line. Her charter to NEL Lines ended in 2013, and she was laid-up in Drapetsona for one year. In 2014 she was bought by the newly-established company Creta Cargo Lines. She was refitted in Perama and she was renamed TALOS. She began service on the Piraeus-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Ikaria-Samos-Chios-Mytilene-Limnos line and on the Piraeus-Santorini-Kythira-Chania-Rethymnon-Kos-Rhodes line. She grounded off in Chios in late 2016, but she was repaired in Chalkida and she returned to service. In 2017 she was deployed on the Piraeus-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Ikaria-Samos-Chios-Mytilene line, on the Piraeus-Paros-Naxos-Kos-Rhodes line and on the Piraeus-Santorini-Chania line. In 2020 she was inserted on the Piraeus-Andros-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Ikaria-Samos-Kos-Rhodes line and on the Piraeus-Santorini-Chania line. In 2021 she was deployed on the Piraeus-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Ios-Santorini-Ikaria-Samos-Chios-Mytilene-Limnos line. In 2024 she operated on the Piraeus-Syros-Tinos-Mykonos-Paros-Naxos-Ios-Ikaria-Samos-Chios-Mytilene line and on the Piraeus-Santorini-Heraklion line.
PHOTOS (2020, 2022):
The TALOS seen heading towards Piraeus during the morning (9/2020).
The TALOS seen heading towards Piraeus during the morning (9/2020).
The TALOS seen on the Saronic Gulf, as she is heading to Piraeus (8/2022).
The TALOS seen on the Saronic Gulf, as she is heading to Piraeus (8/2022).
The TALOS seen on the Saronic Gulf, as she is heading to Piraeus (8/2022).
The TALOS seen on the Saronic Gulf as she approaches Piraeus (8/2022).
The TALOS seen on the Saronic Gulf as she approaches Piraeus (8/2022).
The TALOS seen on the Saronic Gulf as she approaches Piraeus (8/2022).
The TALOS seen heading towards Piraeus, after having returned from the Cyclades and the Northeast Aegean Sea (8/2022).
The TALOS seen heading towards Piraeus, after having returned from the Cyclades and the Northeast Aegean Sea (8/2022).