SS Heraklion
SS Heraklion | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Greece | |
| Operator | Aegean Steam Navigation Co. |
| Builder | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company |
| Launched | 29 June 1949 |
| In service | 1949 |
| Out of service | 8 December 1966 |
| Reclassified | 1964 |
| Home port | Piraeus, Greece |
| Fate | Capsized and sank 8 December 1966 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Roll-on/roll-off ship |
| Displacement | 8,922 t (8,781 long tons; 9,835 short tons) |
| Length | 498 ft (152 m) |
| Beam | 60 ft (18 m) |
| Speed | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
SS Heraklion (sometimes spelled out in books as the Iraklion) was a roll on/roll off car ferry operating the lines Piraeus – Chania and Piraeus – Heraklion (Irakleio) between 1965 and 1966. The ship capsized and sank on 8 December 1966 in the Aegean Sea, resulting in the death of more than 200 people. Its demise was one of the greatest maritime disasters of Greek history.