The launch of H/S/F PROMETHEUS took place on Saturday, August 12, 2000 at the shipyards of SAMSUNG HEAVY INDUSTRIES Co. Ltd in Koje, South Korea. She is the first of the three sister vessels under construction in SAMSUNG for MINOAN LINES. At the ceremony, members of the board of directors of MINOAN LINES were present, headed by the Chairman Mr. Kostas Klironomos, the General Manager Mr. Panagiotis Kasapakis, the shipping CEO Mr. Antonis Maniadakis and other company executives.Also, representatives of the local municipalities of the Prefecture of Heraklion attended the ceremony, the Prefect of Heraklion Mr. Giannis Garefalakis and the President of Local Municipalities Mr. Giorgos Matheakis. Representing the shipyard the President and CEO Mr. H.K.Lee, the Senior Executive VP and COO Mr. C.Y.Hwang, the Yard General Manager and Director Mr. C.S.Kim the Executive VP Captain Donald Mathias, the Director Dr Y.R.Joo and other company executives.The vessel upon its arrival in February 2001 will be deployed on the Adriatic sea routes strengthening the company's competitive advantage on the Adriatic market.Technical characteristics of the vessel: Length: 212 m, Passenger capacity: 1,300 passengers , Garage: 150 trucks or alternatively 1,000 private cars, Service speed: 28,5 knots.Also, the vessel apart from the standard facilities will be equipped with: Restaurant, Self service, Lounges, Bars, Cinema , Shopping center, Video Games, Children playground, 2 Swimming Pools.At the same time, MINOAN LINES has contracted with SAMSUNG HEAVY INDUSTRIES for another state of the art high speed ferry with almost identical characteristics as the vessels already under construction MINOAN LINES, with the new ship, further extends its investment program, safeguarding its dominant market position, while at the same time increasing its competitive advantage on the Crete and Adriatic routes.Furthermore, MINOAN LINES, after actively implementing a research on identifying new prospects and opportunities, intends to widen the business horizons and extend into new European markets within the shipping industry. As soon as the new market analysis is completed, the management of MINOAN LINES is going to announce its new business plans and activities.