MEGA EXPRESS FIVE

Built at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. shipyard in Shimonoseki, Japan, for the Japanese company Marine Express, the ferry was launched on Jan. 29, 1993, under the name Phoenix Express together with its sister ship Pacific Express. The ferry served on the Kawasaki-Hyuga route until 2005, when it was sold to Miyazaki Car Ferry for use on the Osaka-Miyazaki route.

In September 2006, the ship was purchased by Corsica Ferries - Sardinia Ferries and departed for Italy, where it arrived the following October. Undergoing major refurbishment work first at the Palumbo Shipyards in Messina and later at the port of Genoa, the ferry ended up at the center of a dispute between the shipowner and the Messina shipyard because of the extensive scope of the work. The matter was settled only in 2008; the following year the work was finally completed and the ship, renamed Mega Express Five, began service for the new company.