Columbus in Hook of Holland on 29 July 2018.
History
Name
  • Sitmar Fair Majesty (1988–1989)
  • Star Princess (1989–1997)
  • Arcadia (1997–2003)
  • Ocean Village (2003–2010)
  • Pacific Pearl (2010–2017)
  • Columbus (2017–2021)
  • Colus (2021–2021)
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique
Launched28 May 1988
Completed15 March 1989
Maiden voyage1989
In service1989
Out of service2020
Identification
FateScrapped at Alang, India in 2021.[1][2]
General characteristics
Tonnage63,500 GT[3]
Length247 m (810 ft 4 in)
Beam32 m (105 ft 0 in)
Draught8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Decks
  • Passengers: 11
  • Overall: 13
Installed powerFour diesel engines
PropulsionDiesel-electric
Speed21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Capacity1,400 (Normal), 1,856 (Maximum)
Crew700

MV Columbus was a cruise ship. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar Fair Majesty. Originally ordered for Sitmar Cruises, with the merger of Sitmar Cruises into Princess, she first entered service with Princess Cruises as Star Princess in 1989. From 1997 to 2003, she served in the P&O Cruises fleet as MV Arcadia. She was renamed Ocean Village in 2003 when the brand was established.[4] Ocean Village was the sole cruise ship of the Ocean Village brand after the Ocean Village Two became the Pacific Jewel. In 2010 the Ocean Village brand ceased its operations and she was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed Pacific Pearl. She served in the P&O Cruises Australia fleet until 2017 when she was sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages and renamed MV Columbus. Following CMV entering administration in 2020, the Ship was auctioned by CW Kellock & Co. in London on 12 October 2020, for US$5,321,000 to Marios Iliopoulos of Seajets, and some months later resold to scrap in Eleusis Bay.[5][6][7] In 2021 she was sold for scrap in Alang, India where she will be beached and dismantled.[2]

History

Star Princess

Sitmar FairMajesty had been launched and named but was still being fitted out when Sitmar was taken over by P&O in 1988. She was subsequently renamed Star Princess when she commenced operating for P&O's Princess Cruises division in 1989. On 23 June 1995 at 01:42 Star Princess struck Poundstone Rock in Favorite Channel while sailing the Lynn Canal from Skagway to Juneau Alaska. There were no injuries or deaths. Damage to the Star Princess was substantial. Repairs cost over $7 million and lost revenue was estimated at US$20 million. The repaired Star Princess resumed her cruise schedule on 7 August 1995.[8]

Arcadia

Arcadia leaving Station Pier, Melbourne in April 1999

In 1997 she was transferred to P&O's Southampton based UK fleet as a replacement for SS Canberra, which was sold for scrap that year. She was refitted for her new role at Harland and Wolff, shipyard in Belfast.

She was renamed Arcadia, in honour of an earlier P&O liner of the same name that served the UK-Australia route, and a new Princess Cruises ship took the name Star Princess.

Arcadia to Ocean Village refit

Arcadia docked at Southampton, England in September 2000

In 2003, P&O inaugurated its Ocean Village brand of cruises aimed at young people and families. Arcadia was renamed Ocean Village to undertake these cruises. She was repainted with a more colourful livery featuring a vivid purple, yellow and red swoosh on the bow as part of the refit. Modifications were also made to the public areas and accommodation. The work was carried out between 28 March and 17 April 2003 at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven.

Ocean Village

Ocean Village in Dominica, Caribbean in December 2008

Ocean Village was the only ship in the Ocean Village fleet after 2009, a former brand of Carnival UK. It was aimed at mature cruisers who prefer casual informal cruising. The ship was sailing from Bridgetown, Barbados in the winter and from Palma de Mallorca, Spain in the summer.

Onboard features included a 3-storey atrium called Village Square incorporating shops, a performance space, coffee and cocktail bars. A 2-storey show lounge called the Marquee featured tribute acts and dance/show routines from the onboard cast. A second smaller lounge called Connexions was used for comedy and light entertainment, a traditional English Pub called the Oval with occasional sports shown on TV, a nightclub called Bayside, cinema called the Movie Drome, 2 swimming pools (Crystal and Riviera), 4 jacuzzis, a kids and teens-club, 2 Gyms, a sports net area and a health Spa. Food is provided in two buffet style restaurants Waterfront and Plantation (the latter of which is open 24hrs), and two waiter service restaurants called La Luna and the Bistro for which supplements were charged.

During the transformation from Arcadia to Ocean Village, a large steel arch was fitted over the lido deck, used for acrobatic shows, during which the ship has to be slowed to around 5 to 8 knots (9.3 to 14.8 km/h; 5.8 to 9.2 mph).

Farewell sail

Ocean Village sailed on her final farewell voyage on 21 October, a 23-day cruise stopping at Cairo-Egypt (from Port Said), visiting the Suez Canal, Safaga, Egypt, Muscat, Oman, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Cochin, India, Langkawi, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (from Port Kelang, Malaysia) and finally stopping at Singapore where she entered dry dock to become Pacific Pearl, also marking the end of Ocean Village Cruise Line. There was the option for a 30-day cruise, a week in the Mediterranean and the final cruise itself, both the 23 or the 30 day cruises were adults only.[9][10] The port call at Dubai was changed to Fujairah over security concerns. Passengers heading to Dubai took a free shuttle service, which was about a two-hour bus ride away from the port.

P&O Cruises Australia

Pacific Pearl

On 30 October 2008, Carnival Corporation & plc announced the closure of their Ocean Village brand. Coinciding with this both Ocean Village ships were to be transferred to the fleet of P&O Cruises Australia. Ocean Village joined the P&O Australia fleet as Pacific Pearl towards the end of 2010. Her first sailing as Pacific Pearl was on 22 December 2010.[11]

Farewell sail

On 3 March 2016, P&O Cruises Australia announced that the Pacific Pearl would be transferring out of the fleet in March 2017. Having completed 294 cruises for P&O, the Pacific Pearl has carried more than half a million passengers over five years. On 7 March 2016 it was announced that the ship will be transferred to Cruise & Maritime Voyages as the Columbus becoming its new flagship.[12] The farewell voyage of the ship commenced in Auckland on 27 March 2017, spanning 16 days and docking at six ports before finally ending in Singapore on 12 April 2017. The Pacific Jewel replaced her services out of New Zealand.[13]

Cruise & Maritime Voyages

On 12 April 2017, after being handed over to CMV she consequently departed Singapore as the Pacific Pearl sailed to Damen Shiprepair Schiedam in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and underwent dry dock to become Columbus.[14] In 2018, she underwent dry dock with Damen Shiprepair in Amsterdam.

In March 2020, CMV's operations were temporarily shut down, along with the rest of the cruise industry, to combat the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. By July 2020, CMV had entered administration. On 12 October 2020, Columbus was auctioned by CW Kellock & Co. London, and was sold to Greek ferry operator Seajets.[15] The ship was bought by SeaJets, but due to the ship aging and other problems, SeaJets sold her for scrap in Alang.[5] She was beached in Alang, India for scrap on 12 April 2021 and scrapping begin on 5 August 2021.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Weekly Vessel Scrapping Report: 2021 Week 9". Shipandbunker.com. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 Boonzaier, Jonathon (4 March 2021). "Marios Iliopoulos to profit on cruiseship scrap deal". Tradewinds. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "Cruise Ships & Cruise Liners | P&O Cruises". Oceanvillageholidays.co.uk. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "M/S STAR PRINCESS (1989)". Faktaomfartyg.nu. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Columbus Sold, Ship to Stay in Limbo Status". Cruise Industry News. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Birkett, Holly (21 October 2020). "Seajets buys two more ex-CMV cruiseships at auction but has no plan for them". Tradewinds. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "International Ship Auctions". Eggar Forrester. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  8. ↑ NTSB Marine Accident Report PB96-916403
  9. ↑ "P&O Cruises - Discover a different world... | Cruise Holidays". Oceanvillageholidays.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "P&O Cruises - Discover a different world... | Cruise Holidays". Oceanvillageholidays.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Niemelä, Teijo (5 February 2009). "Pacific Pearl name chosen for the next P&O Cruises addition". Cruise Business Online. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  12. ↑ "Cruise & Maritime Voyages Adds P&O Cruises' Pacific Pearl to Fleet". www.cruisecritic.com.
  13. ↑ "Pacific Pearl To Leave P&O Australia Fleet In 2017". Cruise Capital. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "P716N | Indonesian Explorer". P&O Cruises Australia. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Here's What an Entire Cruise Fleet Sold for at Auction". cruiseindustrynews. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.

References

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