The book by my friend Bruce Peter on the fascinating history of the Pericles and his son Alexander Panagopoulos’s involvement in the passenger shipping business and the legacy they have left in the Attica Group.
This is a subject that has been of particular interest to me, since the Tasmanians purchased the Superfast III & IV back in 2002. Superfast pioneered and set new standards in ferry travel throughout Europe. In this book Bruce interviewed Costis Stamboulelis, who worked for Panagopoulos from early the Royal Cruise line days in the design aspect of the ships. He was very instrumental in the birth of Superfast, It was really interesting to hear firsthand how events unfolded and the challenges Superfast overcame. One story that he told that stuck out to me for some reason was:
On the second northbound voyage of Superfast I from Greece to Italy, she was stopped in the middle of the night by Turkish a frigate on NATO duties enforcing an arms embargo on Yugoslavia, who sent rubber boats and boarded her. They inspected the ship, asked the captain questions about the ship, cargo, destination etc. Once they were satisfied, they left. It was later found that they though a fast, unknown ship might be trying to break the blockade.
Bruce covers many aspects of the interior design on the vessels, a big passion of his. Technical details are also covered in some detail. There are many stories from Costis during the construction of the vessels, and sometimes heated arguments between himself and ship yard representatives not wanting to do what he needed them to do.
Bruce has put many unseen before photos in the book, very interesting shots.
There were a few points brushed over that I would have liked to know more on, but overall it’s a really nice book that I recommend anyone with an interest in Superfast and the operations of Attica to get a copy to read.
Get your copy from Ferry Publications.
