Ocean Countess
Ocean Countess at Helsinki, 5 July 2010.
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History | |
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Name |
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Owner |
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Operator |
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Port of registry | |
Builder |
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Yard number | 858 (B&W)[1] |
Launched | 20 September 1974[1] |
Completed | June 1976[1] |
In service | 14 August 1976[1] |
Out of service | 22 October 2012 (retired) [2] |
Identification | IMO number: 7358561 |
Fate | Caught fire and scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey in 2014 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 17,593 GRT |
Length | 537 ft (163.68 m) |
Beam | 75 ft (22.86 m) |
Propulsion | Diesel |
Speed | 17 knots |
Capacity | 800 |
Crew | 350 |
Ocean Countess was a cruise ship owned by Majestic International Cruises of Greece. She was completed in 1976 as Cunard Countess for Cunard Line and was a popular ship in the Caribbean cruise market for 20 years. After leaving Cunard service in 1996, she had a number of owners before being purchased by Majestic in 2004. She was retired in 2012 and scrapped in 2014 after a fire destroyed the ship.
History
Cunard Countess was built in
The '4-star-Premium' style Cunard Countess, with her almost-identical sister ship
In October 1982, after the conclusion of the Falklands War, the ship was chartered for six months by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) to support troop movements between Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands while Port Stanley Airport was being reinstated.[5] Families and friends of British personnel lost in the conflict were also carried on one round voyage, to enable commemorations both at sea and ashore. At the end of the charter, Cunard controversially awarded the contract for the refurbishment of the vessel to Malta Shipyards at a reported cost of £2 million.[6] Cunard Countess returned to Caribbean cruising in July 1983. In 1990 the ship's port of registry was changed to Nassau, The Bahamas.
In 1996 - before
Purchased in 2004 by Maximus Navigation Ltd, a subsidiary of Majestic International Cruises, she was renamed Ocean Countess and registered in
In April 2010, the refitted Ocean Countess joined Marco Polo in an extensive cruise programme from British ports for the recently formed company Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV).[7] In late 2012 Ocean Countess left the CMV fleet, with a final 13-night Canary Islands & Madeira “Farewell Voyage” which ended in Barcelona instead of returning to Liverpool; she was replaced by the MV Discovery.[8]
On 30 November 2013 the central superstructure of the ship caught fire at
Facilities
The fully air-conditioned Ocean Countess had 7 passenger decks (passenger decks 3 to 7, 9 and sun terrace deck 10) plus three further crew-only decks (decks 1, 2 and bridge deck 8). There were deluxe cabins and suites as well as inner and outer standard cabins. All cabins featured private facilities. Passenger capacity was approximately 800 in 400 cabins with a crew of 350. A small number of cabins could be adjusted for guests with special requirements.
The sun terrace (top deck), exterior boat deck and aft lido deck were sheathed in traditional teak. The accommodation, public rooms and decks were refurbished and renamed with British themes in early 2010, in preparation for Ocean Countess' charter to Cruise & Maritime Voyages. New flat screen televisions with satellite channels were also installed in all cabins as part of the refurbishment.[13]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Asklander, Micke. "M/S Cunard Countess (1975)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ Dake, Shawn. "Swapping Ships". MaritimeMatter.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d Boyle, Ian. "Cunard Countess". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ "Cunard Countess". Chris' Cunard Page.
- ^ "Kenya & Uganda". MerchantNavyOfficers.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ "Cunard Countess". INT Source. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ "New Cruise Line Formed August 13, 2009". CruiseInd.com. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ "Discovery to Join Cruise and Maritime After Drydock (7 September 2012)". Cruise Industry News. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ Knego, Peter. "Ocean Countess on Fire". Maritime Matters. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ Mortimer, Dennis. "Ocean Countess - IMO 7358561". ShipSpotting.com. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ "Ship demolitions 15/2/2014". Merseyshipping. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ "Piraeus, outskirts, main Greek ports and shipyards roundup/7 March 2014". shipfriends.gr. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ^ Ward, Douglas. "Ocean Countess (Expert Review)". UK Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
External links
- "Cunard Countess". Chris'Cunard Page. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- A video clip of Ruby (ex Cunard Countess) leaving Rhodos