AZORES

ASTORIA

imo 5383304

Registered Owner: Islands Cruises Transportes - Portugal - Beneficial owner since 2013: Sociedade de Consultores Maritimos Lda (SCMA), -Portugal - Operator: during charters Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV)-UK or Rivages du Monde -France

Gross Tonnage: 16.144 - Refits: 1948/2008/2013 - Passengers lower beds: 492 - All berths: 580 - Passenger decks: 7 - Length 160,10 m. - Beam 21,04 m. - Propulsion: 2 Wartsila diesel engines Type: 16V32 - Total power: 10.700 kW. - 2-Controllable Pitch propellers - Max.Speed: 19 knots - Classification: Bureau Veritas - Flag: Portugal

Former names : Stockholm(1948-1960) - Volkerfreundschaft (1960-1985) - Fridtjof Nansen (1985-1993) - Italia-I (1993-1994) - Italia Prima (1994-1998) - Valtur Prima(1998-2002) - Caribe (2002-2005) - Athena (2005 - 2013) - Azores since Sept.1-2013 - until march 1- 2016) - Astoria 01-03 -2016 - until present

Jan. 2020 ASTORIA’s charter to CMV will terminate this year. Her last CMV cruise will depart Hull on Sunday 18^th October and end on 31^st October 2020, after which she will be handed back to Bank Montepio, her default owners.She has, of course, been on the S&P market for well over a year for $11 million, with no serious interest.

JUNE 18 – 2020 Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) reports ASTORIA is due to sail from London Tilbury Thursday evening where she has been in lay-up since March 15 following a suspension of cruising due to COVID-19. ASTORIA will sail to Lisbon for minor works and to have certificates renewed prior to sailing again. She was estimated to arrive in Lisbon on June 22.Final season The ship is scheduled to return to London Tilbury in September to hopefully commence cruising again for a final season under the company’s livery reports CMV as she will leave the fleet in 2021. There are 133 crew members on board for ASTORIA’s voyage to Lisbon.

HISTORY:
Original build as oceanliner "Stockholm" at Gotaverken-Sweden in 1948 - Yard no.611 -for Swedish- America Line. Converted in cruise ship in 1994 as Italia-I at Varco Chiapella-Italy.

MV ASTORIA was constructed as an ocean liner and subsequently rebuilt as a cruise ship. She was ordered in 1944, and launched 9 September 1946, as STOCKHOLM by Götaverken in Gothenburg for the Swedish America Line (SAL). She made her Maiden voyage in 1948, under the command of captain John Nordlander. During her seven decades of service she has passed through several owners and sailed under the names VOLKERFREUNDSCHAFT, VOLKER, FRIDTJOF NANSEN , ITALIA I, ITALIA PRIMA, VALTUR PRIMA, CARIBE, ATHENA, and AZORES before beginning service as Astoria in March 2016 As STOCKHOLM, she was best known for an accidental collision with ANDREA DORIA in 1956, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship and 46 fatalities. At 160.02 m with a gross register tonnage of 12,165 register tons, STOCKHOLM was the smallest passenger ship operating on the North Atlantic route at the time. However, she was the largest passenger ship built in Sweden at the time. Originally designed to carry 395 people, a 1953 refit expanded STOCKHOLM's capacity to 548 people.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) today June 25 - 2014 announced it will be chartering the Azores to replace the Discovery starting next year.The first voyage will sail 30 nights, from Avonmouth, to the Caribbean, departing Jan. 26.-2015. The Azores joins the Astor and Marco Polo sailing for the CMV brand.
Due to the problems with Portuscale Cruises the survival of the company and the ships is uncertain. The one thing that is sure is that Portuscale’s Azores, which previously operated as the Athena, has been bareboat chartered by Cruise & Maritime Voyages for two and a half years until October 2017.

April 2015 CMV is to sub - charter cruise ship Azores summer 2016 onwards to Rivages du Monde, the Paris based specialist cruise and tour operator.CMV also confirm that Azores will be re-named Astoria when she completes her UK summer 2015 season.
In 2016, Astoria will commence her French business on May 11 under the Rivages du Monde brand as a home market.Operating 14 North European,Greenland,Adriatic and Mediterranean sailings from Le Havre,Dunkirk,Ostende Bordeaux and Marseille.

Acquired by Classic Int. in 2005 from NINA Cia di NAVIGATIONE - ITALY - renamed Athena.Sept. 17 - 2012 Ship arrested in Marseille for outstanding fuel bills and labour issues. Classic International Cruises activities are stopped due to bankruptcy. Ship is property rights of bank.

Febr. 2013 Portugeuse bank Montepio has sold 4 of 5 of CIC's cruise ships to Portugeuse entrepreneur Doctor Rui Alegre. Athena get new name: AZORES. Company no longer exists due to financial problems.

Passenger space ratio all berths: 27.83

Sailing as Caribe for defunct Festival Cruises

Sailing as Athena

AZORES

May 1-2014 German operator Ambiente Kreuzfahrten is leaving the market – this time for good.

The owner of the Ambiente brand, Berlin-based FFR Ferien-, Freizeit- und ReiseService GmbH, has announced it is terminating its cooperation with Portuscale Cruises and cruises on Azores on September 5, 2014, citing dissatisfying bookings as the reason for withdrawal. Azores will depart on her last voyage for Ambiente on August, 29-2014. Ambiente/FFR and Portuscale Cruises agreed a long-term cooperation last year. According to Ambiente, some teething troubles and slow bookings had been anticipated, but the results achieved so far are way behind all expectations.

Charter to CMV name Astoria

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