Giga Jet
 Giga Jet as Bonanza Express in 2010 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | |
| Route | Aegean Sea / Cyclades |
| Builder | |
| Yard number | 051 |
| Launched | 1999 |
| Completed | 1999 |
| Acquired | October 2025 |
| Maiden voyage | 1999 |
| In service | 1999 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Incat 96-metre catamaran |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 95.47 m (313 ft 3 in) |
| Beam | 26.16 m (85 ft 10 in) |
| Draft | 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Installed power | 4 × Ruston 20RK270 diesel engines (28,320 kW / 37,978 hp total) |
| Propulsion | 4 × Lips LJ150D waterjets |
| Speed | 38.0 knots (70.4 km/h; 43.7 mph) (service) 43.0 knots (79.6 km/h; 49.5 mph) (max) |
| Capacity |
|
Giga Jet is a 96-meter high-speed catamaran car ferry operated by Seajets. Originally built in 1999 as the Bonanza Express for Fred. Olsen Express, the vessel has had a long career in Spain and the Mediterranean, operating under various owners such as Ponte Ferries and FRS Iberia. Following its sale to Seajets in late 2025, it was renamed Giga Jet and transferred to Greece for seasonal Aegean services.
Service
[edit]The catamaran, the second of a series of six sister units, was launched on 31 January 1999 at the Incat specialist shipyard in Hobart as Bonanza Express and delivered to Fred. Olsen Express on 22 February. She then set sail from Australia for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where she arrived exactly one month later, on 22 March. On 1 April, she finally entered service on the Santa Cruz de Tenerife - Agaete route. About two years later, on 6 April 2001, the fast ferry, after being transferred overseas, inaugurated the new route between Miami and Freeport, Grand Bahama. For the occasion, the garage was adapted to allow the transport of around thirty TEUs , in addition to the transport of vehicles for which it was designed.[1][2] However, the American experience was short-lived and just three months later, on 24 July, the Bonanza Express was decommissioned in Florida and the route was cancelled. The ferry then returned to the Canary Islands, where in 2002 it returned to service between Los Cristianos, Agaete and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, also occasionally operating the other routes between the various islands of the archipelago, in rotation with the other units of the fleet.[3] On 3 December 2008, while sailing off the coast of Los Cristianos, towards the Spanish port, the catamaran ran aground on Playa de Los Tarajales[4]due to a technical failure, reporting extensive damage to the hull, which caused it to half sink once transferred to port, after being refloated the following day.[5]
On 5 December 2020, after more than twenty years of service for the Fred. Olsen Express,[6] the catamaran was sold to the Maltese Ponte Ferries,[7][8] by which it was renamed Artemis. Following this, the fast ferry then sailed on 17 December from Morro Jable to Valletta, where it underwent a short refit, after which it began service on the connections between the Maltese port and Augusta on 18 November 2021, in competition with the catamarans of Virtu Ferries, active on the connections between the island and Pozzallo. However, in September 2022, after less than a year of service, the company suspended its activities due to economic difficulties and laid up the ferry in Valletta.[9] On 13 June 2023, after approximately two years of service between Sicily and Malta , the catamaran was purchased by the Spanish FRS Iberia and, renamed Poniente Jet,[10][11][12][13] on 19 June it arrived in Algeciras from Valletta, from where it had set sail three days earlier. On 3 August 2025, after being transferred to the new company, the ferry finally started service on the routes between Algeciras and Ceuta, also operating occasionally in the Strait of Gibraltar, between the Andalusian port and Tangier Med, where it mainly sailed in 2024. Also on this occasion, on 4 July 2025, after just two years of service, the Poniente Jet was disarmed in Motril and put up for sale and, in October, purchased by the Greek Seajets, from which it was renamed Giga Jet[14][15]and transferred to Agios Konstantinos, where it arrived on 2 November.[16]
Sister ships
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Cruz, Victor. "Cargo Ferry Offering Fast Miamibahamas Run - Miami Today". www.miamitodaynews.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-11. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ Staff, FreightWaves (2001-04-29). "BONANZA EXPRESS OFFERS HIGH-SPEED BAHAMAS SERVICE". FreightWaves. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "HSC BONANZA EXPRESS (1999)". faktaomfartyg.se. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ Limited, Alamy. "The Fred Olsen ferry Bonanza Express run aground due to engine failure on to Playa de Los Tarajales in Los Cristianos Stock Photo - Alamy". www.alamy.com. Archived from the original on 2026-01-06. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ "Giga Jet (ex. Bonanza Express) , IMO 9200225". www.faergelejet.dk. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ S.A, Fred Olsen. "Fred. Olsen despide al Bonanza Express, el primer fast ferry de Canarias". Fred. Olsen Express. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ sandra (2020-12-10). "Fred. Olsen Express Says Goodbye to the BONANZA EXPRESS". Ferry Shipping News. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ Capuzzo, Nicola (2020-12-08). "Ufficializzata la vendita del catamarano Bonanza Express atteso dalla nuova linea Malta - Sicilia". Shipping Italy (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "HSC Giga Jet — The Ferry Site". www.ferry-site.dk. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "FRS acquires HSC ARTEMIS for FRS Iberia service between Spain and Morocco". Shippax. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ Telegraph, Shipping (2023-07-02). "FRS Iberia buy the Incat high-speed craft HSC "Artemis" for Gibraltar Strait | Uncategorized". Shipping Telegraph. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "European Cruises & Ferries | DFDS". DFDS A/S. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ "Category: 2023 Newsletter week 24". Ferry Shipping News. Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ Lorenzo, Juan Carlos Díaz (2025-10-18). "El catamarán "Poniente Jet", ex "Bonanza Express", revendido a Seajets y renombrado "Giga Jet" » Puente de Mando". Puente de Mando (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ Μαραγκός, Βαγγέλης (2025-10-18). "Το Poniente Jet μετονομάστηκε σε Giga Jet – Νέα προσθήκη στον στόλο της Seajets". Aigaio News (in Greek). Retrieved 2026-07-15.
- ↑ Ακτοπλοϊα, Ελληνική (2025-11-02). "Έφτασε στην Ελλάδα το GIGA JET (ex. PONIENTE JET) - Ελληνική Ακτοπλοϊα" (in Greek). Retrieved 2026-07-15.