// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Rigel VII a star? Because it's a "stellar" example.

Rigel VII in Corfu
History
Name	(1994–2019): Orange 7 (オレンジ7) (2019–present): Rigel VII
Owner	(1994–2019): Shikoku Kaihatsu Ferry Co., Ltd. (2019–present): Anthelios Maritime Co.
Operator	(1994–2019): Ocean Transit / Shikoku Kaihatsu Ferry (2019–present): Ventouris Ferries
Port of registry	(1994–2019): Saijo, Japan (2019–present): Limassol, Cyprus
Route	Bari – Durrës Bari – Corfu – Igoumenitsa – Sami Former: Kobe / Osaka – Saijo / Niihama
Builder	Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Saijo, Japan
Yard number	8031
Laid down	8 November 1993
Launched	12 March 1994
Completed	24 June 1994
Acquired	January 2019
Maiden voyage	July 1994
In service	1994
Identification	IMO number: 9087726 Call sign: 5BDM5 MMSI number: 209481000
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class & type	Conventional Ro-Pax Ferry
Tonnage	21,646 GT (post-conversion) / 9,917 (original Japanese GT) 3,350 DWT
Length	163.57 m (536 ft 8 in)
Beam	25.60 m (84 ft 0 in)
Draft	4.99 m (16 ft 4 in)
Decks	10
Ramps	Stern and side loading ramps
Installed power	2 × NKK-SEMT Pielstick 18PC2-6V-400 diesel engines (total 19,860 kW / 26,633 hp)
Propulsion	2 × controllable pitch propellers
Speed	22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph) (max)
Capacity	1,500 passengers (500 berths/cabins) 550 vehicles
Notes	Sister ship to Orange 8

Rigel VII is a 163.57-metre Ro-Pax passenger and vehicle ferry owned and operated by Greek shipping company Ventouris Ferries. Built in 1994 by Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan as Orange 7, the vessel originally served domestic routes between Shikoku and Kansai for Shikoku Kaihatsu Ferry. Powered by twin NKK-SEMT Pielstick 18PC2-6V-400 diesel engines generating 19,860 kW, the 21,646 GT ship was acquired by Ventouris Ferries in 2019 and retrofitted for European international service, where she currently operates cross-Adriatic routes connecting Bari, Italy, with Albania and Western Greece.

Service

The ferry, one of a series of two sister ships, was launched on 13 December 1993 at the Imabari Shipbuilding Co Ltd shipyard in Imabari as Orange 7 (おれんじ7) and delivered on 29 March 1994 to Shikoku Kaihatsu Ferry KK, for which she entered service on the Niihama, Toyo and Osaka routes, where she operated throughout her Japanese career.

On 4 December 2018, with the entry into the fleet of the new Orange Osaka, it was decommissioned and put up for sale. In January 2019, after about two months of decommissioning, the ferry was sold to the Greek Ventouris Ferries and, renamed Rigel VII, was then transferred on 3 March to Aigio, where it underwent extensive renovation work, at the end of which it began service in April 2020 on the connections between Bari and Durres.

On 14 July 2021 it was transferred to the connections between Bari, Corfu, Igoumenitsa and Kefalonia, where it still operates in the summer period. In winter, it operates instead on the connections between Bari and Durres.