Ferry Express Skopelitis awarded for its offer

This year, the small maritime company Small Cyclades Lines was awarded by Lloyd's as the best shipping company. With its only ferry, the legendary Express Skopelitis, this company connects the islands of Naxos, Amorgos, Donoussa, Koufonissia, Schinoussa and Iraklia all year round, both summer and winter.

In fact, Express Skopelitis has been awarded many times by local authorities and organizations for its offer to these islands of Small Cyclades, particularly in winter time, when ferry connection with Athens is rare. Instead, Skopelitis provides daily connection between the islands of Small Cyclades (that are Donoussa, Schinoussa, Iraklia and Koufonisia), Amorgos and Naxos, even in bad weather conditions, that are frequent in the Aegean Sea in winter. It carries not only passengers but also supplies and medicine to the few permanent inhabitants of these small islands.

As captain Giannis Skopelitis stressed out, it happens frequently to transfer doctors or medicine urgently to an island, therefore they have to access the ports even in the middle of a storm. It has also happened to transfer patients in Naxos, or other islands like Syros and Santorini, so that they get hospitalized there.

Small Cyclades Lines is a family business that passes from one generation to the other. In fact, today, the captain of the ferry, Giannis Skopelitis, is also the owner and manager of the company. Established by his grandfather and his father, in the next years this maritime company will pass to his son, who recently graduated the Greek Academy of Merchant Marine.