American Classic Voyages
Company type | Cruising |
---|---|
Industry | Cruise line |
Founded | 1993 | , as holding company
Defunct | 2001 |
Headquarters | |
Area served | Hawaii, US East Coast, and Mississippi River system |
Key people | Roderick McLeod (President) Samuel Zell (Chairman) |
Services | Hawaiian Cruises, coastal cruises, riverboat cruises |
Owner | public, Nasdaq: AMCV |
Subsidiaries | American Hawaii Cruises, Delta Queen Steamboat Company, United States Lines, Delta Queen Coastal Voyages |
Website | Official website (defunct) |
American Classic Voyages was an American-based cruise ship holding company cruise line, headquartered in Chicago, that operated between 1993 and 2001. The company attempted to take advantage of federal loans and other incentives to build and grow a US-flagged passenger ship industry. The company traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol "AMCV".[1] The company operated the Delta Steamboat Company, Delta Queen Coastal Voyages, American Hawaii Cruises and United States Lines.
History
American Classic acquired the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, operators of the famous river boat
American Classic Voyages then purchased the
Project America
The Patriot was reregistered in the United States by special act of Congress as a "stop gap" until a pair of new 72,000 ton cruise ships could be completed in an American shipyard. The decision to relaunch United States Lines was taken, due to the historic connotations of the brand name and the strong association of the American Hawaii brand with its aging ocean liners, being deemed unsuitable for the fresh, modern image American Classic Voyages hoped to create for their Hawaiian operations.[4]
A contract was signed with the Litton-Ingalls yard in Mississippi for construction of the two new ships for United States Lines under the code name Project America. The US government contributed considerable support in the form of loan guarantees, tax credits and a construction mortgage from the Maritime Administration. American Classic Voyages planned to have put six vessels into service by 2004.[5]
Bankruptcy
After the
Aftermath
The company released a statement on their website:
We believe this process will allow us to rebuild our business in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks and continue our proud tradition as America’s cruise line.[7]
United States Lines, Delta Queen Coastal Voyages, and American Hawaii Cruises immediately ceased operations. amcv.com was taken down by September 21, 2002.[8] The MS Patriot was laid up and eventually sold back to her original owner,
Cape May Light, performed cruises from April 2001 to October 2001 for Delta Queen Coastal Voyages prior to the bankruptcy, and her unfinished sister ship, Cape Cod Light, were repossessed by the shipyard and eventually sold to International Shipping Partners and renamed Sea Discoverer and Sea Voyager, but remained largely unused for years aside from a charter to the US government to house aid workers after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[10]
The original Delta Queen Steamboat Company division survived the bankruptcy of American Classic Voyages, being purchased by Delaware North Companies in 2002, along with three of its four riverboats (Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen, and American Queen.)
Former Fleet
Ship | Built | In service with American Classic Voyages |
Gross tonnage | Flag | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independence | 1951 | 1996-2001 | 20,221 tons | United States | Wrecked while being towed to Alang for scrapping. | |
Constitution | 1951 | 1982-1997 | 20,221 tons | United States | Wrecked while being towed to Alang for scrapping. | |
Patriot |
1983 | 2000-2001 | 33,930 tons | United States | Previously Nieuw Amsterdam - scrapped in 2018 by Marella Cruises. | |
Unknown | 2005 | Never entered service | 80,439 tons | United States | Was finished by Norwegian Cruise Line as the Pride of America. |
References
- ^ "Maritime Matters". Archived from the original on 2009-10-10. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ "CONSTITU". Archived from the original on 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
- ^ Patriot
- ^ Project America
- ^ Web Archive 1
- ^ "Frommers". Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
- ^ New Page 1
- ^ Web Archive
- ^ Sad EndEPENDENCE
- ^ "OLA and VOYAGER: Too Much Relief?". Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2010-11-03.