Seajets Amasses 6-Ship Cruise Fleet – Other Cruise News: CMV Fleet Auctioned Off – Portuguese Explorer to Join Portuguese Fleet?
by Kevin Griffin
Whilst the Covid-19 has seen the disappearance of CMV Cruises in the UK, whose ships have just been auctioned off to new owners, and Spain’s Pullmantur Cruises, whose ships have been sold for for scrap, even industry leader Carnival Corp has seen fit to dispose of 18 of its ships, equal to about 12% of its berth capacity. Ill as it’s effects have been, however, the Covid Pandemic also seems to be creating some potentially new cruise activities.
THIS WEEK’S STORY
Seajets Amasses 6-Ship Cruise Fleet
Seajets is a fast ferry company based in Piraeus. With its fleet of seventeen fast ferries it now serves twenty-six Greek Islands, including Milos, Santorini and Mykonos, as well as ports in Crete.
Oceana – P&O Cruises
With the recent Covid cruise fleet displacement, it has also become the most important buyer of second-hand cruise tonnage directly affected by the pandemic. Although future plans for these vessels have not yet been announced, evidently it has serious plans for these ships.
• Veendam (1,350 berths), renamed Aegean Myth
• Maasdam (1,258 berths), renamed Aegean Majesty
• Pacific Aria (1,258 berths), renamed Aegean Goddess
• Oceana (2,016 berths), renamed Queen of the Oceans
• Columbus (1,866 berths), to be renamed
• Magellan (1,452-berths), to be renamed
Vasco da Gama and Columbus at Singapore, April 2019
The first four ships named here are all products of Italy’s Fincantieri shipyards while the last two ships were acquired in the CMV auctions (see below). All are apparently being flagged in Bermuda.
CMV Fleet Auctioned Off
The reported sales prices of the CMV fleet were as follows.
• Vasco da Gama $10.2.million – to Mystic
• Columbus $5,3 million – to Seajets
• Magellan $3.4 million – to Seajets
• Marco Polo $2.8 million – scrap?
• Astor $1.7 million – scrap?
Some ships may see further service while the older and smaller ones are more likely to go for scrap.
Vasco da Gama
Portuguese Explorer to Join Portuguese Fleet?
In the CMV auctions the ship that stood out the most was the Vasco da Gama, with a reported sale price of $10.2 million. Early reports gave her buyers as being the Portuguese-based river and expedition cruise company Mystic Investments. She is a much larger vessel than any of Mystic’s present fleet.
Should this be true it will be interesting to see if she keeps her Portuguese name. If she does she would become the second Portuguese cruise ship to carry that name.
(Kevin Griffin is managing director of The Cruise People Ltd in London, England. For further information concerning cruises mentioned in this article readers can visit his blog)
