After 24 years, Blue Line International canceled their Ancona to Split ferry line. Main cause for this sadly expected decision is because the company sold “Regina della Pace”, their only remaining ferry to a Greek company less than three months ago.
Blue Line International is a company registered in Malta, but operating from Split. Their formal announcement is brief and unfortunately does not include any information about the future of this popular ferry route.
Back in 1993 when this company started operating this Ancona – Split – Ancona line they were called Sem Maritime Company, and over the years they helped over 2.5 million passengers and 500,000 vehicles travel from Italy to Split.
Blue Line’s troubles started in 2013 when they stopped running daily routes as their fees in Split ferry port were becoming increasingly high. One of their fuel suppliers also supposedly blocked departure of “Regina della Pace” from Ancona’s port for several weeks. Back in January 2017 they were forced to sell their pride ferry, and considering it’s their last remaining ferry boat they are suspending services indefinitely.
Certain unofficial rumors say Blue Line will now focus their business on faster ferry routes in case they find an adequate ferry, however we’ll have to wait and see if it ever happens.
Ancona to Split ferry alternatives
Thankfully Blue Line isn’t the only company running ferries from Ancona to Split and vice versa, so travelers have alternative means of getting to and from Split and Ancona.
Jadrolinija
Jadrolinija, Croatian state ferry company, is the obvious choice. Jadrolinija’s Split to Ancona ferry is “Marko Polo”, running every 3 to 4 days in winter period, with more frequent lines starting in April.
Average price is around €60 for passengers. You can see their price list for 2017 here (.pdf file), but please double-check current prices on Jadrolinija’s website here.
Other Jadrolinija’s routes from Italy to Croatia include Ancona to Zadar, Ancona to Stari Grad (Hvar island), and Bari to Dubrovnik.
SNAV
SNAV is an Italian company also running direct ferries to Croatia. Their routes include Ancona to Split, and Ancona to Stari Grad, and vice versa.
You can see SNAV’s lines and book on their website here. They don’t operate from November to March, but let’s hope the increased number of passengers makes them consider it.
We don’t have any specific information on whether or not Blue Line will start operating again, but hopefully they’ll be able to solve their issues and continue their popular ferry route.
In the meantime there are two other companies which are both excellent alternatives.
Interested in ferry travel in Croatia? Read our comprehensive ferry travel guides to learn about local and international schedules and companies.
