MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 – IMO 9216171
ex HIGHSPEED 3 / BORAQ – former Greek Austal high-speed catamaran
MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 is a 72-metre high-speed vehicle-passenger catamaran built by Austal in Australia in 2000, originally delivered to the Greek market as the famous HIGHSPEED 3.
The vessel spent the first decade of her career operating in the Aegean for Minoan Flying Dolphins, Hellas Flying Dolphins and later Hellenic Seaways before being sold to Morocco in 2010 and renamed BORAQ.
After more than a decade in Moroccan and Spanish service — including a prolonged lay-up following the collapse of Comarit — the ship was remarkably reacquired by Hellenic Seaways at a public auction in 2023 and returned to Greece under her original HIGHSPEED 3 name.
That Greek comeback proved brief.
In 2024 the catamaran entered service for Africa Morocco Link, became MOROCCO EXPRESS 1, and was subsequently sold together with Attica Group's Moroccan operation to interests associated with Stena Line.
Today she sails under the Cyprus flag between Tarifa and Tanger Ville, continuing regular commercial service more than 26 years after construction.
Vessel Details
Current Name: MOROCCO EXPRESS 1
Former Names: HIGHSPEED 3, BORAQ
IMO: 9216171
Current MMSI: 210836000
Current Call Sign: 5BNC6
Type: High-Speed Passenger / Ro-Ro Catamaran
Current Flag: Cyprus
Port of Registry: Limassol
Current Owner: Stena Line International
Current Operator: Africa Morocco Link
Built: 2000
Builder: Austal Ships, Henderson / Fremantle, Australia
Yard Number: 87
Design: Austal Auto Express 72
Length Overall: 72.00 m
Beam: 17.50 m
Original Draught: approx. 2.5 m
Current Published Draught: approx. 2.75–3.0 m depending on load
Deadweight: 190 t
Current Published Gross Tonnage: 2,926 GT
Historical PiraeuShips Gross Tonnage: 2,377 GT
Passenger Capacity: 620
Vehicle Capacity: 70 cars
Main Engines: 4 × MTU 16V 595
Original Engine Output: approx. 4 × 3,866 kW
Propulsion: 4 × waterjets
Original Design Speed: 40 knots
Attica Published Maximum Speed in 2023: 34 knots
Current Route: Tarifa – Tanger Ville
Current Status: Active.
Built for Greece as HIGHSPEED 3
The vessel was constructed by:
Austal Ships in Western Australia
as hull number:
87.
She was one of two identical 72-metre Auto Express catamarans ordered for:
Minoan Flying Dolphins Maritime.
Her sister ship was:
HIGHSPEED 2.
Austal's own contemporary material described both vessels as capable of carrying:
620 passengers
and:
70 cars
at speeds of up to:
40 knots.
A New Generation for the Aegean
When HIGHSPEED 3 entered Greek service in 2000, she represented a new generation of fast passenger transportation in the Aegean.
The catamaran was designed specifically around rapid island connections and quick port turnaround.
Austal incorporated separate passenger-loading arrangements so foot passengers did not need to share the vehicle ramp during stern-to-quay Mediterranean operations.
This was especially useful in the busy summer conditions of the Cyclades.
Four MTU Engines and Waterjets
Propulsion was provided by:
4 × MTU 16V 595 diesel engines.
Each originally produced approximately:
3,866 kW.
Power was transmitted through Reintjes gearboxes to:
4 × KaMeWa waterjets.
This installation gave the Auto Express 72 design an original published performance figure of:
40 knots.
Greek Career
HIGHSPEED 3 entered service during the summer of:
2000.
Her original operator was:
Minoan Flying Dolphins.
The group subsequently evolved into:
Hellas Flying Dolphins
and later:
Hellenic Seaways.
Throughout this first Greek period the vessel became a familiar sight on fast Aegean services.
Rafina and the Cyclades
Among her earliest assignments were services from:
Rafina
toward:
Tinos
and:
Mykonos.
The ship subsequently operated various Greek island routes during her decade in the domestic high-speed ferry fleet.
Piraeus Connection
HIGHSPEED 3 also had a strong connection with:
Piraeus.
The vessel was repeatedly photographed in the port during her Hellenic Seaways period, including documented visits in:
2005
and:
2009.
This means that IMO 9216171 had a Piraeus history long before the later MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 entry appeared in the PiraeuShips archive.
Sold to Morocco
In:
February 2010
HIGHSPEED 3 was sold to Moroccan ferry company:
Comarit.
The ship left the Greek fleet and in:
April 2010
was renamed:
BORAQ.
From May she began operating on the short international route:
Tanger Ville – Tarifa.
BORAQ
The name:
BORAQ
would remain on the vessel for approximately thirteen years.
The ferry's new route across the Strait of Gibraltar was particularly well suited to her original design.
The crossing is short, highly competitive and dependent on rapid passenger and vehicle turnaround — precisely the environment for which a high-speed Austal catamaran was designed.
Collapse of Comarit
The Moroccan chapter was interrupted dramatically when:
Comarit collapsed in 2012.
BORAQ was laid up at:
Tarifa.
Instead of being sold immediately or scrapped, the vessel remained inactive for several years.
Return to Service with Inter Shipping
In:
2016
BORAQ was acquired by:
Inter Shipping SARL.
The vessel subsequently returned to commercial service in the Strait of Gibraltar.
She continued operating between Morocco and Spain under the BORAQ identity until:
2023.
An Unexpected Return to Greece
One of the most remarkable developments in the vessel's career occurred in:
2023.
BORAQ was offered through a public auction at:
Algeciras, Spain.
The winning bidder was:
Hellenic Seaways,
the same Greek company with which the vessel had been associated before her 2010 sale.
Attica Group officially announced the acquisition on:
31 October 2023.
The purchase price was:
€2.41 million.
BORAQ → HIGHSPEED 3 Again
Following the acquisition, the ship was registered once again under:
the Greek flag
and reverted to her historic name:
HIGHSPEED 3.
The name sequence therefore became:
HIGHSPEED 3 → BORAQ → HIGHSPEED 3
— a rare example of a ferry returning not only to its former owner group and country but also to its original identity.
Refurbishment in Greece
Attica Group announced that the vessel would undergo:
engineering
and:
hotel-facility upgrades
to bring her back to the company's operating standards.
At that point, the intention appeared to be to use HIGHSPEED 3 within the Attica fleet.
The company officially listed:
72 m length
17.5 m beam
2.6 m draught
and:
34 knots maximum speed.
Plans Change
The anticipated return to regular Greek island service never materialised.
By:
March 2024
HIGHSPEED 3 was being painted in the colours of:
Africa Morocco Link – AML.
Instead of returning permanently to the Cyclades, the catamaran was prepared to go back to the same geographic market where she had spent most of the previous decade.
HIGHSPEED 3 → MOROCCO EXPRESS 1
In 2024, the vessel adopted a new identity:
MOROCCO EXPRESS 1.
She returned to the:
Tanger Ville – Tarifa
route, entering commercial service there during June 2024.
Attica Sells Its Moroccan Operation
At the same time, Attica Group was exiting its Moroccan ferry investment.
On:
10 July 2024
Attica announced completion of the sale of its:
49% interest in Africa Morocco Link
together with:
MOROCCO STAR
and:
MOROCCO EXPRESS 1.
The overall transaction value was:
€49 million,
with Attica estimating a net profit of approximately:
€24 million.
Stena Line Enters Africa Morocco Link
The buyer was:
Stena Line Holding BV.
Stena acquired:
49% of Africa Morocco Link
while AML remained majority Moroccan owned.
Stena also acquired:
MOROCCO STAR
and:
MOROCCO EXPRESS 1.
Stena's 2024 annual report states that the company would take responsibility for AML's day-to-day operation.
Cyprus Flag
Following the 2024 sale, MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 transferred from:
the Greek flag
to:
Cyprus.
Her current port of registry is:
Limassol.
Current radio identity is:
MMSI 210836000
Call Sign 5BNC6.
Current Gross Tonnage
The old PiraeuShips entry recorded:
2,377 GT.
Current maritime databases instead publish:
2,926 GT.
Because of this source discrepancy, the updated profile should preferably use the current registered figure while retaining the old PiraeuShips number as a historical reference rather than silently replacing it.
Current Route
MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 now operates the international ferry connection:
Tarifa, Spain ↔ Tanger Ville, Morocco.
Current AML booking records and AIS information continue to show the vessel actively working this route.
Still Active in 2026
MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 remains fully active in:
2026.
Recent AIS data continues to record multiple daily Strait of Gibraltar crossings.
The 26-year-old vessel therefore remains commercially productive in exactly the type of short, high-frequency route for which her original Austal design is particularly well suited.
A Remarkable Round Trip
The ship's career can be summarised through four very different chapters:
2000–2010 – HIGHSPEED 3 / Greek Aegean service
2010–2023 – BORAQ / Morocco–Spain operations
2023–2024 – HIGHSPEED 3 / brief return to Greek ownership and flag
2024–present – MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 / AML–Stena / Strait of Gibraltar
Few modern high-speed ferries have effectively completed such a geographical and corporate circle.
PiraeuShips Connection
The vessel has an unusually strong PiraeuShips connection because her story is tied to Piraeus in more than one period.
As HIGHSPEED 3 she was already a familiar Greek high-speed ferry during the 2000s.
She then returned to Greek ownership and registry in 2023 before being transformed into MOROCCO EXPRESS 1.
PiraeuShips published its dedicated:
MOROCCO EXPRESS I – IMO 9216171
entry in July 2024.
The page therefore captures a particularly brief transitional moment: the ship had just changed from HIGHSPEED 3 to MOROCCO EXPRESS 1, while the old database information still showed the Greek flag.
PiraeuShips Record
MOROCCO EXPRESS 1 was recorded by PiraeuShips during one of the most unusual identity changes in the career of a former Greek high-speed ferry. Built by Austal in Australia in 2000 as HIGHSPEED 3, the 72-metre catamaran originally carried 620 passengers and 70 cars on Aegean services for Minoan Flying Dolphins, Hellas Flying Dolphins and Hellenic Seaways. Sold to Morocco in 2010 and renamed BORAQ, she later survived the collapse of Comarit, returned to service with Inter Shipping and remarkably came back into Hellenic Seaways ownership through a €2.41-million public auction in 2023, once again becoming HIGHSPEED 3. The Greek comeback was short-lived: in 2024 she was renamed MOROCCO EXPRESS 1, returned to the Tarifa–Tanger Ville route and was sold together with Attica Group's AML interest to Stena Line. Now Cyprus flagged and still fully active in 2026, the vessel has effectively completed a remarkable round trip between Greek and Moroccan ferry service, making the PiraeuShips footage an especially valuable record of her brief second Greek chapter and transition into her current identity.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.
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