KOTAIX is a Chilean double-ended passenger and vehicle ferry with a strong connection to Piraeus and the Salamis ferry route. Built in Greece in 2017, she originally entered service as THEOCHARIS MARIA L for Karnesis–Lalousis NE and operated on the busy Perama–Paloukia, Salamis crossing. The vessel was registered in Piraeus and became a familiar sight in the western part of the port before being sold abroad in 2021.
The ferry was designed as a large double-ended Ro-Ro unit, allowing vehicles to embark and disembark from either end without the need for the vessel to turn around. Naval architects Petychaki list her at 92.68 metres in length, 17.56 metres in breadth, with a draught of 2.90 metres and capacity for around 164 cars on the main vehicle deck.
In 2021, THEOCHARIS MARIA L was sold for service in South America and renamed KOTAIX. During her delivery voyage from Greece, the ferry called at Santa Cruz de Tenerife after sailing from Piraeus, before continuing towards the Americas. She initially sailed under the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and later transferred to the Chilean flag.
Vessel Details
Name: KOTAIX
Former Name: THEOCHARIS MARIA L
IMO: 9825996
MMSI: 725003966
Call Sign: CA8499
Type: Double-Ended Passenger / Ro-Ro Ferry
Flag: Chile
Built: 2017
Country of Construction: Greece
Naval Architecture: Petychaki Naval Architects
Current Registered Owner: Inversiones Santa Bertina S.A.
Commercial Manager: Somarco
Length Overall: 92.68–92.70 m
Beam: 17.56 m
Draught: approx. 2.90 m
Gross Tonnage: 1,512 GT
Deadweight: 920 t in current Chilean registry data
Original Greek design DWT: 1,964 t
Vehicle Capacity: approx. 164 cars
Current Area of Operation: Southern Chile
History
The vessel entered service at the end of 2017 as THEOCHARIS MARIA L. She was built for Karnesis–Lalousis NE and deployed on the short but extremely intensive Perama–Salamis crossing. Her sister ship was IOANNIS SOPHIA K, built a year earlier. Contemporary records show THEOCHARIS MARIA L operating between Perama and Paloukia from her first months in service and regularly undergoing maintenance in the shipyards around Salamis and Perama.
Following her sale in 2021, the vessel became KOTAIX and left Piraeus for South America. By the end of 2022, Chile’s official merchant-fleet register listed KOTAIX under Inversiones Santa Bertina S.A., with 1,512 GT, 920 dwt and dimensions of approximately 93 × 17.5 metres.
Current AIS records in 2026 show KOTAIX continuing to operate in southern Chile, particularly in the Hornopirén–Leptepu area, where double-ended ferries are well suited to short coastal routes requiring frequent vehicle loading and rapid turnaround.
Piraeus Connection
The ship’s connection with Piraeus is much stronger than that of a typical foreign ferry. Before becoming KOTAIX, she spent her entire early career in the wider Piraeus–Salamis area as THEOCHARIS MARIA L. Photographic records confirm her at Perama and Piraeus repeatedly between 2017 and 2019, including regular crossings to Paloukia.
PiraeuShips Record
KOTAIX was recorded by PiraeuShips during her Greek career as well as around the time of her transformation from THEOCHARIS MARIA L to KOTAIX. Her presence in the archive is particularly interesting because she represents a modern Greek-built double-ended ferry that began life on the Perama–Salamis route before being exported to Chile, where she remains in active service today.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.