Middle Eastern ferry company Karaneh Lines is boosting its fleet with the addition of a former French-owned ropax.
The ship in question is the 20,800-gt, 1,700-passenger Grand Ferry (built 1983), which the IHS Ships Register indicates is owned by Greek company MH Marine and managed by Piraeus-based Go Shipping & Management.
Go Shipping is described on its website as a provider of shipbroking and other services.
A company official told TradeWinds that it is acting as a project advisor for the Grand Ferry.
Greek ferry industry sources said it is overseeing a reactivation refit of the long laid-up ship at a shipyard Chalkis in preparation for its move to the Middle East in October.
The Go Shipping official said that the ship is undergoing a thorough refit of its passenger accommodation.
Previously the Corse of French ferry operator SNCM, it had been retired from service in 2013.
MH Marine bought the ship in 2016 and moved it to Piraeus, where it continued in lay-up until reactivation work began earlier this year.
MH Marine is also the registered owner of 20,000-gt ropax ferry Sunny (built 1982), which became Karaneh’s first ship when the company was launched in April 2017.
The Go Shipping official gave a vague response when asked whether Karaneh was chartering the ship, claiming only that Karaneh and MH Marine were “closely associated”.
When first launched, Karaneh Lines was touted in both Iranian and international media as being Iran’s first privately-owned ferry company.
However Go Shipping maintains that it is a Dubai-based company and plans to operate the Grand Ferry on a cruise-ferry service between Dubai and the Iranian resort island of Kish.
The Sunny will be reassigned to a new route focusing primarily on the freight market once the Grand Ferry enters service.
TradeWinds was unable to reach Karaneh Lines for comment.
