Ferry services between İzmir, Thessaloniki to start in September

Yorgo Kirbaki – ATHENS

Ferry services between Türkiye’s Aegean province of İzmir and the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, a project on the table since 2011, will begin in September, a Greece-based ferry company has announced.

Athens-based company Levanta Ferries declared that a ferry named “Smyrna di Levante” would hold service once a week between the two sides of the Aegean.

When the ferry services would begin has not been announced yet, but the company declared that the Greek island of Lesbos would also be added to the ferry route in October.

“Smyrna di Levante,” a ship that is 160 meters in length and 23 meters in width, has a capacity to carry 930 passengers and 55 lorries.

The duration of a trip between İzmir and Thessaloniki will be around 12 to 13 hours, depending on sea and weather conditions, the company officials said.

When asked about the price, the company replied, “Prices will be fair.”

“We have overcome technical problems for the ferry service, and now we will calculate the costs and then announce the prices,” the company added.

The local Greek media estimated that with the start of the ferry services, new tourism packages would be presented to tourists from both countries.