• 2023 January 31 17:16

    World’s oldest cruise ship sold for recycling - TradeWinds

    Brokers report that the 16,144-gt Astoria (built 1948) has been sold for recycling at a European Union-approved facility for an undisclosed sum by Puerto Rico-based The Roundtable LLC., according to TradeWinds.

    The sale brings to a close one of the most colourful careers of any ship, one that began in the dark days of World War II, when Swedish American Line ordered a passenger ship at AB Gotaverken in 1944.

    Built with an ice-strengthened bow for year-round transatlantic liner service, the ship, as Stockholm, sailed on its first voyage in February 1948, becoming the world’s first post-war passenger ship newbuilding.

    Small in comparison with other passenger ships engaged in the transatlantic trade, the Stockholm would have had an unremarkable career had it not slammed into the flagship of the Italian government’s passenger fleet, the 29,000-gt Andrea Doria (built 1953), on a foggy night off New York in July 1956.

    The Andrea Doria sank. The Stockholm survived with a crumpled bow. The collision cost the lives of 51 passengers and crew from both ships.

    Swedish American Line sold the Stockholm to East Germany’s VEB Deutsche Seereederei in 1960.

    Renamed Volkerfreundschaft, it was converted into a cruise ship for the Communist Party and trade union members.

    This career lasted until 1985, with the Swedish connection maintained via frequent charters to Stena Line.

    The Volkerfreundschaft was sold in 1985 to Neptunus Rex Enterprises, a Panamanian-registered company that chartered it to the Norwegian government, which used it as a barracks ship in Oslo for asylum seekers. During this time the ship was named after the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen.

    Italy’s Starlauro was the next owner, acquiring it in 1989 with the intention of rebuilding it for further use as the cruise ship Sorrento. The ship was sold to Nina di Navigazione before any work was done, and soon it was moved to a shipyard where it was completely gutted and rebuilt into the Italia Prima, a modern cruise ship capable of carrying 580 passengers.

    Nina mostly put the Italia Prima out on charter to other cruise operators, as did next owner Classic International Cruises, for which it sailed as Athena.

    Next, the ship was sold to Portuguese start-up Portuscale Cruises, which renamed it Azores and put it out under charter.

    UK-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) was one of those charterers. It renamed the ship Astoria and continued to charter it from mortgage holder Montepio Bank after Portuscale collapsed in 2015.

    CMV entered administration in 2020, leading to the Astoria being seized by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency.

    Montepio stepped in to reclaim the vessel, moving it to Rotterdam, where attempts were made to find a buyer.

    Cryptocurrency billionaire Brock Pierce acquired the Astoria in mid-2021 with the intention of using it as a cruise ship.

    TradeWinds understands that Pierce lost interest in the ship after determining that the cost of returning it to service was economically unfeasible, given its advanced age.




2024 April 20

12:17 Stena Bulk completes sale of Stena Blue Sky
10:05 Newbuild ocean tug bolsters growing LNG bunker fleet

2024 April 19

18:02 CMA CGM to strengthen and reshuffle its SEAS1 & SEAS2 services connecting Asia and East Coast South America
17:25 OOCL upgrades Transpacific Latin Atlantic 1/ 2 (TLA1/ 2) service
16:45 The world's two largest hydrogen ships are to be built in Norway
16:15 KEYS Azalea completes first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in Western Japan
15:40 Port Houston surpasses 1mln TEU mark in Q1 2024
15:29 World's first ammonia dual-fuel Aframaxes to be developed by MISC
14:55 Port of Rotterdam total cargo throughput up 2.0% to 3.3 million TEUs in Q1 2024
14:06 DNV awards certificates for Fortescue’s dual-fuelled ammonia-powered vessel
13:44 Imoto Lines and Marindows launch next-generation zero-emission container ship project
12:41 The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach complete a comprehensive Green and Digital Shipping Corridor study
12:20 Ulsan Port Authority signs MOU with Pacific Environment to decarbonize shipping ports in Singapore
11:50 Cavotec signs USD 5 million shore power order with global shipping company
11:22 Rio Tinto selects Alfa Laval OceanGlide fluidic air lubrication with a focus on advancing efficient shipping and reducing emissions
10:45 Steerprop selected to supply main propulsion and tunnel thrusters for Canadian Coast Guard multi-purpose vessels program
10:14 ST Engineering AirX and Bureau Veritas sign cooperation agreement to advance Wing-in-Ground technology
09:38 Solar panels at the Port of Valencia will generate 22% of the energy it consumes

2024 April 18

18:02 DEME wins cable installation contracts from Prysmian for IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1 offshore grid systems
17:31 RINA awarded contract for Carnival Cruise Line 4th and 5th Excel-class ships
17:18 Cepsa and Evos join up for green methanol storage in Spain and the Netherlands
16:48 ClassNK commences joint research project with JAXA on material compatibility evaluation methods for liquefied oxygen
16:24 Panama Canal announces new measures regarding number of transits and maximum draft
15:50 Kongsberg Maritime secures contract to supply propeller systems to Damen Naval for four Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates
15:24 LR to class Torghatten Nord’s hydrogen-powered ferry duo for Arctic sailings
14:04 CMA CGM sells part of the foreign activities of Bolloré Logistics to the Balguerie Group
13:40 Methanol Institute and SEA-LNG unite against EU trade barriers to biomethane and biomethanol fuels
13:23 DP World launches a new Air Tracking feature to its SeaRates platform
12:31 Port of Los Angeles container volume increases 19% to 743,417 TEU in March 2024
12:16 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 16, 2024
12:11 Coastal Sustainability Alliance boosts development and adoption of maritime biofuel in Singapore
11:43 Ocean Network Express launches reduced emissions shipping service
11:23 Wartsila cargo handling and fuel gas supply systems selected for three new Very Large Ethane Gas Carriers
10:45 Singapore plans production of biofuel blends up to B50 in grade
10:25 Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and International Energy Agency сollaborate on maritime energy transition

2024 April 17

18:03 Australia and Singapore partner in a $20 million initiative to help reduce emissions in the maritime sector
17:38 EPS strengthens green collaboration with MPA with six Singapore-registered ammonia dual-fuel newbuilds
17:03 HD Hyundai, Scottish firms to cooperate on offshore wind power
16:16 Hanwha Ocean wins 176.4 bln-won order for 1 LPG carrier
15:46 Maritime Book and Claim System advances pilot study to support first movers in zero-emissions shipping
15:00 Port of Antwerp-Bruges cargo volumes up 2.4% to 70.4 million tonnes in Q1 2023
14:47 DOF Rederi AS sells PSV Skandi Gamma
14:24 PIL, CCS partner on alternative fuels and onboard carbon capture and storage
13:44 Total volume of bunker fuel sales at the port of Fujairah increases by 25.2% to 700,918 m3 in March 2023
12:11 Eureka Shipping announces construction of new cement carrier for Great Lakes trade
11:32 MOL to adopt new system to increase capacity and improve operational efficiency of car carriers
11:12 GTT receives an order for the tank design of eight new LNG carriers
10:43 Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources takes delivery of a new research vessel
10:27 The United States exported a record volume of natural gas in 2023
09:58 TECO 2030 raises NOK 43 million and partners up with Advait in India

2024 April 16

18:04 HD KSOE attains 73% of annual order target in 100 days
17:31 Anglo-Eastern buys Euronav ship manager
17:06 Navig8 takes delivery of the second of six newbuild MRs with emission reducing technology
16:38 IMO’s Facilitation Committee tackles digitalization and autonomous shipping
16:12 World’s largest car carriers ordered with MAN Energy Solutions propulsion package
15:46 Hapag-Lloyd and Seaspan to retrofit five vessels to methanol propulsion
14:13 Asyad Shipping and OQ8 successfully complete first-of-its-kind blended crude oil delivery from Mina Al Fahal to Duqm Refinery
13:54 Hapag-Lloyd unveils its new Strategy 2030
13:14 Singapore aims for over 1 mln tons of low-carbon methanol bunker supply by 2030
12:43 Trafigura to commercially deploy Daphne Technology’s PureMetrics on LNG carrier for precise MRV and optimisation of GHG emissions
12:15 All 12 people rescued from fire on board Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship in Singapore waters
11:49 Drydocks World steel cutting ceremony marks start of UK Norfolk Vanguard Offshore Wind Platforms project
11:23 North Pacific Green Corridor Consortium aims to decarbonize transportation corridor between Canada, Japan and South Korea
10:48 Wartsila offers new high-performance thruster and propulsion control solution package
10:25 Port of Long Beach container volume up 8.3% to 654,082 TEUs in March 2024
09:58 Kalypso Offshore Energy signs LOI with Royal IHC

2024 April 15

18:04 Container shipping costs of S. Korea-EU route surge 40 pct amid Red Sea crisis
17:21 HMM to expand container ship fleet by 2030
17:09 Singapore retains its position as the world's leading maritime city
16:47 Iran says MSC Aries vessel seized for 'violating maritime laws'