Displaced from NEL’s main Piraeus-Chios-Mytilene route some time ago, in the Summer of 2010 this splendid veteran has again been travelling the more distant routes of the North Aegean.
The Golden Vergina also features, along with other Greek favourites, in Ferries at Paros Port – sailing very close to the spot that what would, a few years later, become her final resting place.
From the Express Poseidon’s final years, here are some brochure images, via nautilia, of the ship in Greek waters:
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From above, the Southampton-end slipways of both operations remain clearly visible today – on this Google Maps link, click on the ‘Satellite’ tab and the green arrow indicates the Seaspeed slipway, with its Floating Bridge equivalent to the south of the Itchin Bridge, the adjacent street still called ‘Floating Bridge Road’.
Whilst British Rail doubtless could see the hovercraft as ideal replacements for older passenger ferries, there is a certain irony that it was just upriver that the last of the trio of motor ships built for the Southern/BR after the war, the Southsea, spent her final days before going to Denmark to be demolished. Her death throes were spent at a scrapyard just beside the Northam Bridge and those who made the occasional pilgrimage there to see the old lady may be interested to know that another landmark adjacent to that bridge has met the same fate as the Southsea: the Northam TV studios have recently been demolished. Latterly used by Meridian TV but originally built by Southern Television in the 1960s there are some urbex pictures on this link.
Buquebus retain their operations in South America and the Silvia Ana L, once used seasonally by Color Line, now has the company’s new livery.
Although featuring nothing of the Aquarama, the website of her scrappers features a front of house image which includes the Volcan De Tacande (ex-Versailles, Stena Danica).