MS Astor
Astor at Fremantle in 2016.
| |
History | |
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Name |
|
Namesake | Fyodor Dostoevsky (2nd name) |
Owner |
|
Operator |
|
Port of registry |
|
Ordered | 1985[2] |
Builder | HDW, Kiel, West Germany[2] |
Cost | $65 million[6] |
Yard number | 218[2] |
Launched | 30 May 1986[2] |
Acquired | 14 January 1987[2] |
Maiden voyage | 14 January 1987[2] |
In service | 14 January 1987[2] |
Identification |
|
Fate | Scrapped in January of 2021 |
General characteristics [2] | |
Type | Cruise ship |
Tonnage | |
Length | 176.25 m (578 ft 3 in)[7] |
Beam | 22.60 m (74 ft 2 in)[7] |
Draught | 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in)[7] |
Decks | 7 (passenger accessible)[6] |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | Two propellers[6] |
Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
Capacity | 650 passengers |
Crew | 300[6] |
MS Astor was a
The ship was originally built in 1987 under the name Astor by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), Kiel in West Germany for the Mauritius-based Marlan Corporation, although originally ordered by the South African Safmarine as a combined ocean liner/cruise ship for the Southampton-Cape Town service.[5][9]
In 1988, she was sold to the Soviet Union-based Black Sea Shipping Company and renamed Fedor Dostoevskiy[7][10] (some sources spell the name Fedor Dostoyevskiy,[6] Russian: Фёдор Достое́вский), but spent her time under charter to various West German cruise lines. In 1995, she reverted to the name, Astor. From 1996 until 2020, she operated under charter to Transocean Tours.[2]
After Transocean Cruises' parent company, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, entered administration in 2020, Astor was sold at auction by C.W. Kellock London Ltd. on 15 October 2020 for US$1,710,000.
Concept and construction
The South African Safmarine had restarted ocean liner service between
Service history
1987–1988: Astor
Immediately following delivery on 14 January 1987, the Astor set on her maiden voyage from Hamburg to Genoa and from there further to South America. After this she was used for cruising on the Caribbean and to other destinations around the world.[citation needed]
1988–1995: Fedor Dostoevskiy
On 3 October 1988 Marlan Corporation sold the Astor to the
1995–2020: Astor (again)
Following the end of Feodor Dostoevskiy's charter to Neckermann Seereisen, she was chartered to Aquamarin in December 1995 and reverted to the name Astor. In 1996 the ship was sold to Astor Shipping Co., and again chartered to Transocean Tours.[2][5] At some point prior to 2008, she was acquired by Germany-based Premicon, but she continued to operate for Transocean under charter.
On 28 November 2008, the
In February 2013, Astor was chartered for three years, commencing in 2013, by Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) in a bid to fill the "gap" in the Australian market after the exit of Classic International Cruises.[12]
In December 2014, Cruise & Maritime Voyages purchased the vessel from its bankrupt owners, Premicon.[4][13] The vessel planned to sail a winter 2015[needs update] season with Cruise & Maritime Voyages before briefly moving back to the fleet of Transocean where she sailed a summer season from Germany before switching back to CMV for the winter 2016 season.[14][15]
In 2019, Cruise & Maritime Voyages announced it would rename Astor as Jules Verne and would deploy the ship in the French market beginning in May 2021.[16][17] However, Cruise & Maritime Voyages entered administration in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ship was sold at auction by CW Kellock London on 15 October 2020 for $1,710,000.[18] She beached in Aliaga, Turkey on 23 November 2020 for scrap.[19] Scrapping started on November 27, 2020 and, as of March 30th 2021, she has been completely scrapped.
Design
Exterior design
Externally, the 1987-built Astor was designed to be almost identical to the 1981-built Astor, but approximately 12 metres (39 ft) longer. Due to the similar design the ships were distinguishable only due to the additional windows below the first lifeboat on the 1987 ship.[5] Both Astors were designed with a sharply raked bow, a relatively low, terraced superstructure and a large, square funnel.[6]
In Marlan Corporation service, the Astor was initially painted with a white hull and superstructure, a red decorative stripe separating the hull and superstructure, and red/blue funnel with a large white cross painted on it alongside the letters ML.[5][10] This was later altered so that the decorative stripe was extended to cover the entire lowest superstructure deck, while the funnel was painted white with red stripes.[2] As Feodor Dostoevskiy, the decorative stripe on the hull reverted to the same form as in the original livery, while the funnel was painted white with blue exhaust pipes and a wide red stripe with the hammer and sickle emblem on it.[5]
In Transocean Tours service the ship received a livery with a narrower light/dark blue decorative stripe on the hull, a white funnel with blue exhaust pipes, a thin light/dark blue stripe with Transocean Tours' large T logo in the middle.[5]
Interior design
As with the exterior, the interior layout and decorations of the 1987-built Astor were very similar to the 1981-built Astor, down to the bathroom fittings.[6] However, the 1987-built ship was designed with a larger number of suites, improved crew quarters, an added casino and added conference facilities.[9]
Like the 1981-built ship, the 1987-built Astor was furnished in traditional style using large amounts of dark wood, with many of the public rooms having high ceilings.[6]
Decks and facilities
As Astor in Transocean Tours service, seven decks were accessible to passengers. Facilities included dining areas, sauna, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a
References
Notes
- ^ Message #6 27.10.2011, 13:31 Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Asklander, Micke. "M/S Astor (1987)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ a b Newman, Doug (21 January 2008). "Astoria to Leave Transocean Tours". At Sea with Doug Newman. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ a b "Cruise & Maritime Voyages Purchases Cruise Ship - Cruise & Maritime Voyages". www.cruisecritic.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Boyle, Ian. "Fedor Dostoevskiy / Astor (2)". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-981-268-240-6.
- ^ a b c d e "Astor (31512)". DNV Vessel Register. Germanischer Lloyd. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "Die Premicon-Flotte" (in German). Premicon AG. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ ISBN 0-85177-400-8.
- ^ ISBN 0-486-28137-X.
- ^ "German Frigate Chases Off Pirates". Der Spiegel. Spiegel Online International. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ "Cruise Line Charters Ship for U.K.-Australia Cruises". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ "CMV to purchase MS Astor". Cruise Weekly. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ "Astor - Cruise Calendar - Cruise and Maritime Voyages". Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- ^ "MS ASTOR - Kreuzfahrtkalender - TransOcean Kreuzfahrten". transocean.de.
- ^ Sharpe, Olivia (28 November 2019). "Cruise & Maritime Voyages acquires two new ships". Cruise Trade News. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ Stieghorst, Tom (5 December 2019). "Cruise & Maritime Voyages acquires two ships for 2021". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ "International Ship Auctions". Eggar Forrester Ship Brokers. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Staff, C. I. N. (24 November 2020). "Astor Beached, To Be Scrapped". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ ""Astor" Deckplan" (in German). Transocean Tours. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
Bibliography
- Bröking, Klaus (2007). MS Astor - MS Astoria: eine deutsche Geschichte (in German). Königswinter: Heel. ISBN 9783898807951.