St Patrick
| Built | 2002 Howaltswerke Deutsche Werft AG, Kiel, Germany. |
| Size | 30,285gt 203.30M x 25.00M x 6.50M. |
| Capacity | Passengers: 728 Berths: 728 |
| Engines Speed | 4 x Wärtsilä-Sulzer NSD ZA V40S engines 28.9 kts |
| Route | Cork – Boulogne-Sur-Mer |
Launched in 2000 and delivered to Superfast Ferries in early 2002, the vessel began service in the Baltic on routes linking Germany, Sweden and Finland. After an unsuccessful initial deployment between Rostock and Södertälje, she moved to the Rosyth–Zeebrugge service before being sold in 2006 to Estonia’s Tallink Group as Superfast IX. Over the following years she operated extensively across the Baltic, including services between Helsinki, Tallinn, Rostock and Paldiski.
In 2008 the ship was chartered to Canada’s Marine Atlantic, renamed Atlantic Vision, and spent over fifteen years operating between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. During her Canadian career she survived several onboard fires, severe Atlantic weather and mechanical issues, while becoming one of the best-known ferries in Marine Atlantic’s fleet. Returned to Tallink in 2024, she regained the name Superfast IX before being chartered in 2026 to Ireland’s Hibernia Line, where she was renamed St Patrick for service between Cork (Ringaskiddy) and Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Akka
| Built | 2000 SSW Fähr und Spezialschiffbau GmbH, Bremerhaven, Germany. |
| Size | 36,468gt 190.77M x 29.50M x 6.20M |
| Capacity | Passengers: 740 Berths: 640 |
| Engines Speed | 2 x MaK 8M43, 2 x MaK7M 43 and 1 x MaK 6M32 engines 22 kts |
| Route | Cork – Boulogne-Sur-Mer |
Launched in 2000 and delivered to Germany’s TT-Line in 2001, the vessel entered service between Trelleborg and Travemünde after early technical issues with her azipod propulsion system delayed delivery. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s she became a regular fixture on Baltic Sea routes linking Sweden, Germany and Lithuania, despite several incidents including a grounding caused by a blackout in 2002 and a collision with the ferry Urd in Travemünde in 2012. The ship also underwent major engineering upgrades during her career, including machinery conversion work in 2006 and the installation of exhaust scrubbers in 2015–16.
Renamed Akka in 2022, the vessel continued operating for TT-Line across the Baltic and was occasionally chartered for military transport duties involving Finnish forces. In 2025 she was chartered to Greece’s Attica Group for service as a Superfast ferry on the Patras–Igoumenitsa–Venice route, linking Greece and Italy. Following the completion of the charter in early 2026, Akka returned to TT-Line service in the Baltic before later being linked with Ireland’s Hibernia Line project.
