Lefka Ori

Lefka Ori ( Greek : Λευκά Όρη , Lefká Ori ) is a ferry owned by the Attica Group. Built between 1986 and 1987 at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Shimonoseki for the Japanese company Highashi Nihon Ferry, it was originally named Varuna (ばるな, Baruna ) . Entering service in July 1987 on the routes between Hokkaido and Ōarai , on the Pacific coast of Honshu , it was at the time one of the largest ferries in Japan . Sold in 1998 to the Greek company Strintzis Lines, it entered service in January 1999 between Greece and Italy under the name Superferry Hellas . In 2000, following the acquisition of Strintzis Lines by the Attica Group and its renaming to Blue Star Ferries, the ship was renamed Blue Horizon . Since 2009, it has primarily operated on Aegean routes to the Cyclades and the Dodecanese , and more recently to Crete . Due to the involvement of its crew in a homicide case that sparked outrage throughout Greece, the ship was renamed Lefka Ori and initially transferred at the end of 2023 to ANEK Lines , now a subsidiary of the Attica Group, before finally joining the Superfast Ferries fleet in February 2024.