MS Abel Tasman

Theofilos in Piraeus, Greece
History
Name:	1975-1985: Nils Holgersson 1985-1994: Abel Tasman 1994-1995: Pollux 1995 present: Theofilos
Owner:	1975-1985: TT-Line 1985-1994: TT-Line Pty. Ltd. 1994-1995: Ventouris Ferries 1995-present: Maritime Company of Lesvos
Operator:	1975-1985: TT-Line 1985-1994: TT-Line Pty. Ltd. 1994-1995: Ventouris Ferries 1995-present: Nel Lines
Port of registry:	1975-1985: Lübeck,  Germany 1985-1994: Devonport  Australia 1994-1995: Pireus  Greece 1995 Present: Mytilini  Greece
Route:	1975-1985: Travemünde–Trelleborg 1985-1993: Devonport–Melbourne 1994-1995: Igoumenitsa – Bari 1995-present: Piraeus–Chios–Mytilini–Thessaloniki
Ordered:	1974
Builder:	Nobiskrug, Rendsburg
Yard number:	682
Launched:	26 October 1974
Completed:	1975
Maiden voyage:	May 1975
Identification:	IMO number: 7362108 Call sign: SWJC MMSI number: 239369000
Status:	In service
General characteristics
Tonnage:	19,212 GT
Displacement:	3,472 t DWT
Length:	148.9 m
Beam:	23.3m
Draught:	5.5 m.
Ice class:	1A
Installed power:	X2 Pielstick 16PC2-5V diesel engines 15,300 kW (combined)
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Capacity:	1,800 passengers 470 vehicles

MS Theofilos is a passenger/vehicle ferry built at the Nobiskrug shipyard in Rendsburg, Germany in 1975.

MS Theofilos is a passenger/vehicle ferry that was built at Nobiskrug in Rendsburg for the TT-line (Germany) as the Nils Holgersson (3) for the Travemünde - Trelleborg route in 1975 along with her sister Peter Pan (2). In 1985 it was purchased and renamed Abel Tasman by TT-line (Tasmania) and after the Australian National Line (ANL) announced they would be pulling out of the Bass Strait run, so the Australian Federal Government gave the Tasmanian Government the capital required to buy a suitable ferry, in compensation for placing the environmentally-sensitive Gordon River off-limits to Hydro Tasmania power generation schemes. This ship turned out to be the Nils Holgersson (3) from the TT-line (Germany), which also came with an option to buy her sister ship Peter Pan (2) one year later (which never came to pass).

The ship was named after Abel Tasman, the first known European to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). She first went back to her builder's yard for a refit, and for a large box-like structure to be added to the stern of the ship for the crew, because the Australian maritime union rules didn’t allow the crew to be under the car deck, which is where the crew cabins were. She left Rendsburg on 22 April 1985, but two days later she was stopped by an industrial dispute with the stewards. She first went to Brunsbuttel, but had to continue through the Kiel Canal, and into Kiel where she docked. The Tasmanian Government sent police to West Germany to end the dispute and get the ship underway, but on arrival the police were powerless in West Germany. So the Tasmanian Government had to change laws to empower them to resolve the problem, and she resumed her trip and left Kiel on 18 May 1985.