HSC Tallink AutoExpress 2

HSC Tallink AutoExpress 2 was a fast passenger ferry (catamaran) operated by the Venezuelan ferry company Conferry on the line between Puerto la Cruz and Punta de Piedras, Margarita Island.

Tallink AutoExpress 2 at quay 8 in Port of Tallinn on June 21, 2007
History
Name	1997–2001: Boomerang 2001 onwards: Tallink AutoExpress 2
Owner	2009 onwards: Conferry
Operator	1997–2001: Polferries 2001–2007: Tallink 2007 onwards: Conferry
Port of registry	1997–2001: Nassau,  Bahamas 2001–2007: Tallinn,  Estonia 2007–2008: Kingstown,  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2008–2009: Limassol,  Cyprus 2009 onwards: Pampatar,  Venezuela^[1]
Builder	Austal, Henderson, Western Australia
Yard number	53
Launched	1 March 1997
Acquired	May 1997
Identification	Call sign YYKT IMO number: 9150286 MMSI number: 775504000
Fate	Sank
General characteristics ^[2]
Tonnage	5,419 GT
Length	82.3 m (270 ft 0 in)
Beam	23.0 m (75 ft 6 in)
Draught	2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Installed power	4 x MTU 20V 1163 TB73 diesel engines
Propulsion	4 x Kamewa waterjets
Speed	38 knots (service speed)
Capacity	700 passengers 175 cars

History

HSC Boomerang was built in 1997 by Austal in Australia and owned by Sea Tropid Co. Ltd. (Polferries). The vessel is of the AutoExpress 82-type designed by Austal. In 2001 the ship was bought by Tallink and renamed Tallink AutoExpress 2, operating between Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki, Finland. On October 12, 2007, the ship collided with HSC SuperSeaCat Three in Tallinn Harbour, resulting a meter-long hole in the ship's side. No passengers were harmed in the incident. After that, the vessel was chartered to Conferry, a ferry operator in Venezuela.^[3] On November 3, the vessel arrived at the premises of Curaçao Drydock, after being delivered by Redwise. It was bought by Conferry in 2009. On August 6, 2018 it has partially sunk due to a lack of proper maintenance, abandoned in the port of Guanta, Venezuela.^[4] It was no longer operational from about 2017 due to lack of funds caused by economic crisis in Venezuela.

References

1. Tallink Autoexpress 2
2. Boomerang Austal
3. . News. Tallink Grupp. GlobeNewswire. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
4. Torkin, Nikolay (7 August 2018). . Maritime Bulletin. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2021.