MS ''Marco Polo'' was a
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
originally built as
ocean liner ''Aleksandr Pushkin'' in 1965 by
Mathias-Thesen-Werft,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
for the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
's
Baltic Shipping Company. After major alterations and additions, the ship sailed as ''Marco Polo'' for
Orient Lines
Orient Lines was a cruise line specialising in exotic destinations that was in operation 1993–2008. The brand was founded in 1993 by Gerry Herrod, and was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1998. It ceased operations in March 2008 and was sold ...
from 1993 to 2008.
It last sailed for UK-based
Cruise & Maritime Voyages and its German subsidiary
Transocean Tours.
After Cruise & Maritime Voyages entered administration in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was sold at auction by CW Kellock & Co. Ltd. for US$2,770,000 on 22 October 2020;
it was subsequently resold and in January 2021 was beached at
Alang
Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard.
Demographics
As of the 2001 Indian census, Al ...
, India and scrapped.
Design and construction
''Aleksandr Pushkin'' was constructed at VEB Mathias-Thesen-Werft in
Wismar
Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...
,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. She was the second ship of the (also referred to as "poet" or "writer" class), named after the Russian poet
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
.
[Cruisepage.com ship profiles: MV ''Marco Polo''](_blank)
retrieved 22. 11. 2007 The construction of this class featured some notable differences from contemporary ships built in the west. Amongst other things they offered cabins for six people and had three taps in the bathrooms - for hot, cold and sea water - Both of these features had long since been abandoned in western liners.
[Le Goff, Oliver: ''Ocean Liners'', pages 122-123. Greenwitch Editions, London, 1999. ] The ships also featured certain forward-looking features, such as all outside accommodation for both passengers and the crew, and an indoor/outdoor swimming pool with a sliding glass roof.
To enable the ships to navigate through broken ice, they were constructed with
greater hull strength and stability than usual in passenger ships of this size.
[Sealetter Cruise Magazine: ''Marco Polo'': History](_blank)
retrieved 22. 11. 2007 The ''Ivan Franko''-class ships were built with use as
troopship
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
s in mind. Due to this they had unusually large provision and storage areas, enabling a cruising range of over .
As a more visible sign of potential military use, the ships were equipped with unusually powerful deck lifting gear, apparently to be able to transport armoured vehicles on board.
As built, the ship carried between 650-766 passengers in two classes, with different sources providing different figures.
[Miller, William H. Jr.: ''Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994'', page 2. Dover Publications, New York, 1995. ] Additionally there were provisions for 500 cabinless passengers.
According to a deck plan printed for the passenger agency of Helsinki in 1971, the Alexandr Pushkin could carry 668 passengers, 520 in Tourist Class and 148 in First Class. Tourist Class cabin were furnished with either two or four bunks, one or two wardrobe, a sofa, a table and one or two chairs, along with a washing basin ; the sanitary facilities were shared among the passengers. These rooms were located on the four lowest decks (B/Promenade Deck, C/Main Deck, Second and Third Deck). In First Class, all staterooms were furnished with two beds or a "sofa bed and upper pullman berth", a table, a chair, a sofa and a nightstand. They also had a private bathroom with a shower, a toilet and a washing basin. Staterooms 101 to 104 on the Boat Deck, looking towards the bow, were deluxe ones, with a desk and its armchair, their own telephone as well as a bath instead of a shower. On the rear of the Promenade Deck were located staterooms 277 and 279, sharing their full bathroom as these two had baby cribs. All cabins had portholes or windows.
For the passenger facilities, they were located on the upper decks. The restaurant was on the C deck ; on the B Deck you would have the "Kalinka" shop, the gymnasium, the sauna bath as well as the children's play room and swimming pool. The A Deck, or Saloon Deck, was filled with amenities. For the bow to the stern, you would have : the Music Saloon, with its piano and dance floor ; the "North Palmyra Café" and the "Café Penguin" ; the "Beriozka" shop and an information kiosk, followed by the post counter ; the Cinema ; the Smoking Saloon with its "Friendship bar" and play room ; the Library ; the two hairdressers and finally the Swimming Pool and another bar, the "Rusalka bar" (Mermaid's bar). An outside dancing floor was located on the Boat Deck and on the Bridge Deck, there was the Verandah with the "White Nights" bar.
From 1972 onwards the ''Ivan Franko''-class ships were rebuilt. In the first stage the cargo facilities were eliminated and the forward superstructure extended, allowing for additional public spaces. Stabilizers were also installed in this stage. In the second stage the cabins were re-configured to include berths for all passengers.
In a refit during the 1970s a
discothèque
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
was added on board ''Aleksandr Pushkin'', making her the first Soviet ship to have one.
Service history
Service as ''Aleksandr Pushkin''
''Aleksandr Pushkin'' entered service in 1965 with the
Baltic Shipping Company, one of the three principal Soviet passenger shipping companies (the other two being the
Black Sea Shipping Company
Black Sea Shipping Company (russian: Черноморское морское пароходство, uk, Чорноморське морське пароплавство) is a Ukrainian shipping company based in Kyiv.
The company was established ...
and the
Far Eastern Shipping Company).
Reports about her service in the Soviet fleet are fragmentary and conflicting, partly due to some information still being classified by the Russians. Most sources state she was used to inaugurate the Baltic Shipping Company's regular trans-Atlantic service between
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
, Canada and
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, and later on used for cruising.
Other sources give a more detailed, but somewhat conflicting, accounts. Philip Dawson's book ''The Liner - Retrospective & Renaissance'' gives the full route as Leningrad—
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
—
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
—
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
(
Tilbury
Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...
)—
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
—Montreal, in addition to which the ship was used for cruising from Montreal to
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...
,
The Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
and Cuba during the summer months. According to the book, the ship carried just 36 passengers on her first transatlantic crossing.
According to Cruisepage.com, she spent only the summer months on Leningrad—Montreal service, while the rest of the year she was used either on crossing from Leningrad to
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba or cruising under charter to western companies.
Fakta om Fartyg offers a somewhat different account, stating that the ship originally entered service as a cruise ship in 1965, moving to the Leningrad—Montreal route in only April 1966, then spending summers from 1967 until 1979 in Leningrad—
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
—Montreal route and the rest of the year cruising, and from 1979 exclusively on cruise traffic.
It does seem likely the ship called in Helsinki and London on her transatlantic crossings, as according to an article in
Helsingin Sanomat ''Alexandr Pushkin'' was popular amongst Finnish passengers sailing to London and Canada; she was the only ship offering crossings from Finland to Canada and the only liner in Helsinki—London service at the time.
Although not mentioned in any source, photographic evidence shows that ''Aleksandr Pushkin''s superstructure was enlarged during her 1972 rebuilding, with the forward superstructure expanded and rear promenade decks built in.
''Aleksandr Pushkin'' was chartered to the
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
-based
Transocean Tours in 1979, ending her transatlantic service. At this point she was one of just three passenger liners in transatlantic service, alongside
Cunard Line's ''
Queen Elizabeth 2'' and
Polish Ocean Lines
Polish Ocean Lines (PLO, pl, Polskie Linie Oceaniczne) is a Polish commercial shipping company, with headquarters in Gdynia. The company was created in 1951 in a merger of three smaller shipping companies. Currently, PLO acts as a holding compan ...
'
''Stefan Batory''.
In addition to the liner and cruise service, two sources mention that ''Alexandr Pushkin'' was also used in service of the
Soviet Navy, particularly in interventions into African countries.
In 1985, her charter to Transocean Tours ended and ''Aleksandr Pushkin'' was transferred from the Baltic Shipping Company to the Far Eastern Shipping Company,
who promptly chartered her to
CTC Cruises for cruising from Europe and Australia.
In 1990, her charter to CTC Cruises ended and she was laid up at
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
.
In 1991, the ship was sold to
Orient Lines
Orient Lines was a cruise line specialising in exotic destinations that was in operation 1993–2008. The brand was founded in 1993 by Gerry Herrod, and was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1998. It ceased operations in March 2008 and was sold ...
- the brainchild of cruise lines and hotels entrepreneur Gerry Herrod - and renamed ''Marco Polo''.
Service as ''Marco Polo''
Following the purchase by Orient Lines, ''Marco Polo'' sailed to
Neorion Shipyard, Greece,
where her engines were reconditioned by
Sulzer Diesels.
Following this she was moved to
Perama Shipyard, Greece, where a near-total reconstruction of the ship commenced. Externally this resulted in notable extension of the rear superstructure and heightening of the funnel to maintain the proportions of the ship.
Internally the ship was almost entirely rebuilt under the guidance of naval architect
Knud Hansen and interior designers
Michael and
Agni Katzourakis.
In addition to the more visual changes, the ship was fitted with Denny Brown
stabilizers, additional diesel engines and brought up to the latest
IMO and
SOLAS standards. The refit took 2 years; various sources estimate the cost as between
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
20m
and $60m.
In 1993, following completions of the conversion, ''Marco Polo'' began a varying itinerary of cruises all over the world, including more unusual destinations such as
South-East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, Africa, and
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
.
In 1998, Orient Lines was sold to
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...
.
[Ward, Douglas: ''Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006'', page 384. Berlitz Publishing 2006. ][Simplon Postcards: Orient Lines](_blank)
Retrieved 22 November 2007 ''Marco Polo''s cruises continued as before, but as a result of the NCL deal
MS ''Crown Odyssey'' joined her in the Orient Lines fleet in 2000, turning the company into a two-ship brand.
[Fakta om Fartyg: M/S Crown Odyssey (1988)]
, retrieved 22. 11. 2007 However, ''Crown Odyssey'' left the Orient fleet in 2003,
and ''Marco Polo'' became again the sole ship of the brand. Since 2005 she has also been the sole surviving ''Ivan Franko''-class vessel, the other sisters having sunk or been scrapped.
In 2008 Norwegian Cruise Line sold ''Marco Polo'' to the Greece-base
Global Maritime Group which chartered the ship to the Germany-based
Transocean Tours.
''Marco Polo'' replaced
MS ''Arielle'' in the Transocean Tours fleet, operating cruises out of the United Kingdom and Germany.
The sale of ''Marco Polo'' also meant the end of the Orient Lines brand.
Transocean Tours said that they planned to operate the ship until 2012 at least.
![Marco Polo Helsinki 2008-08-22](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Marco_Polo_Helsinki_2008-08-22.jpg)
On 6 July 2009 ''Marco Polo'' called at
Invergordon
Invergordon (; gd, Inbhir Ghòrdain or ) is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It lies in the parish of Rosskeen.
History
The town built up around the harbour which was established in 1828. The area beca ...
, Easter Ross, Scotland on a cruise outbound from
Tilbury
Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. During a health inspection by the local port health officials up to 150 passengers were discovered to have been infected with what was presumed to be
norovirus
Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually devel ...
;
the number of infected passengers and crew subsequently rose to 400.
Also on 6 July a 74-year-old passenger died of a heart attack on board the ship. According to reports from the local health officials he had serious underlying health problems, and it was not known if a norovirus infection contributed to his death.
On 7 July Transocean Tours decided to cancel the remainder of ''Marco Polo''s ten-day cruise after consulting
NHS Highland
NHS Highland is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. Geographically, it is the largest Health Board, covering an area of from Kintyre in the south-west to Caithness in the north-east, serving a population of 320,000 people. In 2016– ...
. Reportedly the company gave the passengers an option to either stay with the ship until she returned to Tilbury on 11 July or to return to their homes earlier by a specially arranged charter train. On 8 July three infected people remained in
Raigmore Hospital
Raigmore Hospital ( gd, Ospadal an Rathaig Mhòir) is a health facility located in Inverness, Scotland. It serves patients from the local area as well as providing specialist services to patients from across the Highland area. It is a teaching h ...
in
Inverness.
Some reports indicate that passengers on board ''Marco Polo''s previous cruise, which terminated in Tilbury on 4 July, might also have been infected with norovirus. However, according to Transocean Tours the ship was inspected upon return to Tilbury and no infections were found, although some passengers during the cruise did suffer from
gastroenteritis. The London Port Health Authority stated that they were not informed of illness on board the ship when it docked at Tilbury, and Transocean Tours could consequently face legal action.
Despite Transocean Tours' intention of keeping the ship in its fleet until 2012,
reports emerged in August 2009 that ''Marco Polo'' would be chartered to the newly founded, UK-based
Cruise & Maritime Voyages for five years from 2 January 2010.
Her planned itineraries included cruises from the UK to South America during the northern hemisphere winter months, and from the UK to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean during the summer months.
On 13 March 2013 Cruise & Maritime voyages announced that ''Marco Polo'' would be terminating one of her
northern lights cruises and go into dry dock for inspection and minor repairs after striking an uncharted object under command of the local pilot minutes after sailing from Sortland on 9 March 2013. Her cruise terminated in
Antwerp with passengers being transferred to Tilbury and London via the
Channel Tunnel or
ferry by
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
.
On 14 February 2014 a passenger died and sixteen people were injured after a freak wave struck the ship in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
during a
storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
. One seriously injured passenger was taken off by helicopter. The ship was heading to Tilbury with 735 passengers and 349 crew on board.
''Marco Polo'' has been the subject of a television programme in the series ''Mighty Cruise Ships'' (a spin-off of ''
Mighty Ships
''Mighty Ships'' is a documentary television program produced by Exploration Production Inc. in Canada and aired on Discovery Channel Canada and also broadcast around the world. Each episode of the series follows a particular sea-going vessel ...
'') which documented the 2013 voyage to St Petersburg, Russia, and the Baltic States. The ship ran into a force 10 gale in The Baltic.
On 1 November 2014, while docking at the port of
Leknes
is a town in Nordland county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of the municipality of Vestvågøy (with 10,764 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality in Lofoten and Vesterålen). Leknes was designated a "town" ( ...
in
Lofoten
Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolv ...
, Norway, a strong breeze sent the cruise ship off course, resulting in the ship running aground at coordinates .
On 20 July 2020, Cruise & Maritime Voyages entered administration. The company's administrators sold ''Marco Polo'' at auction for US$2,770,000 on 22 October 2020.
[ Plans for Offshore Solutions Unlimited to return her to service were not realised,][ nor were announced plans by the buyer, Highseas Ltd., to convert her into a floating hotel in ]Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
. She was resold two months later for approximately $4 million to an Indian company, reached the scrapyards of Alang, India on 13 January 2021[ and was beached and scrapped.] Scrapping begin on 28 March 2021 and, on 5 July 2021, it also started from the stern.
References
External links
Deck plans of the Marco Polo under Cruise & Maritime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marco Polo
Ocean liners
Cruise ships
Ships built in East Germany
Passenger ships of the Soviet Union
East Germany–Soviet Union relations
1964 ships
Ships built in Wismar
Maritime incidents in 2014
Ships of Black Sea Shipping Company