FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I – IMO 8132031
now PAXOS ISLAND II / ex PAXOS FLYING DOLPHIN / FLYING DOLPHIN XIV
FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I was the name carried from 2008 until 2026 by a classic Soviet-designed passenger hydrofoil built in Georgia in 1981.
The vessel began her Greek career as FLYING DOLPHIN XIV, later becoming PAXOS FLYING DOLPHIN and then FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I.
After decades of service in the Sporades, Ionian Sea, Dodecanese and Saronic Gulf, a major change occurred in 2026.
The hydrofoil was sold by Aegean Flying Dolphins to:
Kerkyra Lines
and renamed:
PAXOS ISLAND II.
She is now fully active on the:
Corfu – Paxos
route, returning to the Ionian Sea more than twenty years after an earlier period of service there.
Vessel Details
Current Name: PAXOS ISLAND II
Former Names: FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I, PAXOS FLYING DOLPHIN, FLYING DOLPHIN XIV
IMO: 8132031
MMSI: 237023300
Call Sign: SV6437
Type: Passenger Hydrofoil
Flag: Greece
Port of Registry: Piraeus
Built: 1981
Builder: Ordzhonikidze Works, Poti, Georgia – then Soviet Union
Current Operator: Kerkyra Lines
Gross Tonnage: 142 GT
Length Overall: 35.19 m
Beam: 6.00 m
Current Kerkyra Lines Passenger Capacity: 130
Vehicles: None
Operating Speed: approx. 30–32 knots
Current Route: Corfu – Paxos
Current Status: Active.
Built in Georgia
The vessel was constructed in:
1981
at:
Ordzhonikidze Works in Poti, Georgia,
then part of the Soviet Union.
She belongs to the famous Soviet-developed hydrofoil family that became closely associated with Greek high-speed passenger transport from the 1970s onward.
FLYING DOLPHIN XIV
The vessel entered Greek service as:
FLYING DOLPHIN XIV.
She operated for:
Ceres Flying Dolphins,
initially on routes involving:
Agios Konstantinos
Volos
Skiathos
Skopelos
and:
Alonissos.
Minoan Flying Dolphins and Hellenic Seaways
The hydrofoil later passed through the corporate structures of:
Minoan Flying Dolphins
Hellas Flying Dolphins
and:
Hellenic Seaways.
She continued primarily in Sporades passenger service during this period.
PAXOS FLYING DOLPHIN
In:
2004
the vessel was sold and renamed:
PAXOS FLYING DOLPHIN.
She then entered service on:
Corfu – Paxos.
This is important because her current 2026 employment effectively represents a return to a route she had already served more than two decades earlier.
FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I
In:
2008
the hydrofoil was sold to:
Aegean Flying Dolphins
and renamed:
FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I.
Her operations initially shifted toward:
Samos
Patmos
Lipsi
Leros
Kalymnos
and:
Kos.
Saronic Gulf
From:
2010
the vessel became strongly associated with:
Piraeus
and the:
Saronic Gulf.
Routes included:
Piraeus – Aegina – Agistri
and, in later periods:
Methana
and:
Poros.
Lay-Up and Return
At the end of the 2011 season, the vessel was withdrawn because of the age restrictions then applicable to hydrofoils.
She spent several years laid up at:
Perama.
After changes to the regulatory framework, the hydrofoil returned to service on several occasions from 2016 onward.
She eventually resumed more regular operation in:
2019.
PiraeuShips in 2019
PiraeuShips published the dedicated:
FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I – IMO 8132031
entry in:
August 2019.
At the time the vessel was recorded as:
Greek flag
142 GT
35 m length
and:
6 m beam.
The article therefore preserves the hydrofoil during one of the vessel's later Saronic Gulf operating periods.
Final Aegean Flying Dolphins Years
FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I continued to appear on Saronic Gulf services during:
2022
2023
and:
2024.
She was laid up again during:
2025.
Sold to Kerkyra Lines
In:
February 2026
the vessel was sold to:
Kerkyra Lines.
She was renamed:
PAXOS ISLAND II.
This brought to an end approximately:
18 years
under the FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I identity.
Back to Corfu and Paxos
Kerkyra Lines officially welcomed PAXOS ISLAND II to its fleet in:
June 2026.
The company placed the hydrofoil on:
Corfu – Paxos,
with a published crossing time of only:
55 minutes.
The company's current fleet page gives capacity for:
130 passengers.
Active in 2026
AIS records from September and October 2026 confirm regular operation between:
Gaios, Paxos
and:
Corfu.
Typical recorded speeds are around:
30–32 knots.
The 45-year-old hydrofoil is therefore still in genuine commercial passenger service.
First-Season Engine Incident
On:
9 June 2026
PAXOS ISLAND II experienced a loss of power in the port-side main engine while sailing from Corfu toward Paxos with 45 passengers.
The vessel safely returned to Corfu and the passengers were accommodated by alternative arrangements.
The incident did not end her operating season, and she subsequently returned to regular service.
A 45-Year Greek Hydrofoil Career
By 2026 the vessel has reached:
45 years since construction.
Her history now spans:
the Sporades,
the Ionian Sea,
the Dodecanese,
the Saronic Gulf,
and finally a return to Corfu and Paxos.
This makes IMO 8132031 one of the most historically interesting surviving hydrofoils still in regular Greek passenger service.
PiraeuShips Record
FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I was recorded by PiraeuShips during the later Saronic Gulf period of a Greek hydrofoil career extending back to 1981. Built at Poti in Georgia and originally operated as FLYING DOLPHIN XIV, the vessel later became PAXOS FLYING DOLPHIN before joining Aegean Flying Dolphins as FLYING DOLPHIN VENUS I in 2008. After years of service from Piraeus and several periods of lay-up and reactivation, the hydrofoil was sold to Kerkyra Lines in 2026 and renamed PAXOS ISLAND II. She now carries up to 130 passengers between Corfu and Paxos in approximately 55 minutes and remains fully active at 45 years of age. The PiraeuShips footage therefore preserves a former identity of a vessel that has now begun another remarkably appropriate chapter on a route she first served more than twenty years earlier.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.