''Ocean Voyager'' is a small

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 "s ...

, carrying about 200 passengers. First launched in 2001, she has been operated by four different owners, and was formerly known as ''Victory I'', ''Saint Laurent'', ''Sea Voyager'' and ''Cape May Light'', the ship was built in the United States and entered service in 2001. She was renamed ''Ocean Voyager'' in December 2021.

Design and description

The ship has a

gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weigh ...

of 4,954 tons and a

deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provi ...

of 200 tons. The ship is

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

and

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

. The cruise ship has a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and draught of . The ship is powered by a two-

shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

that gives the ship a maximum speed of . Characterized by her owners as a "luxury" vessel, she has a capacity of 210 passengers that are bunked in 105 double staterooms, and are said to have available all the amenities offered on larger vessels.

Construction and career

The vessel was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in August 1999 by

Atlantic Marine Atlantic Marine was an American shipbuilding and construction company. It operated two shipyards, one in Mobile, Alabama and the original corporate location, a smaller one in Jacksonville, Florida where its headquarters was located. It was acquir ...

at their

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, shipyard. The ship was constructed under the

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

4242 and was launched in June 2000. ''Cape May Light'' was completed on 9 April 2001.

Career as ''Cape May Light''

Initially named ''Cape May Light'', in 2010 she was renamed ''Sea Voyager'' and registered in the United States. In 2011, her registry was changed to

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

and later that year and in 2015 her named was changed to ''Saint Laurent''.

Career as ''Saint Laurent''

When she was named ''Saint Laurent'' she was owned by the Clipper Group AS, of Copenhagen, Denmark and operated by the Haimark Line. On 18 June 2015, on the first season she toured the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

, ''Saint Laurent'' collided with the

Eisenhower Lock The Eisenhower Lock is one of the seven canal locks on the St Lawrence River leg of the St Lawrence Seaway. This lock provides a 38 foot lift for ships heading upstream. It is one of two locks located near Massena, New York. The lock was construct ...

, a

canal lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...

in the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...

. The vessel has a capacity for 210 passengers, and, on the day of the collision, she was carrying 192 passengers, 81 crew, and a local pilot. Twenty-two members of the ship's complement, nineteen passengers and three crew members were slightly injured, and were evacuated. After the collision the vessel took on water, so the lock was completely drained. The collision caused the seaway to be out of commission for 42 hours, and delayed 13 other vessels. Nine hours after the seaway was reopened another vessel, , ran aground.

Career as ''Victory I''

The ship was the first vessel of a new line, known as Victory Cruise Lines, was acquired in 2016. She underwent a refit, repurposing four of her double cabins, reducing her passenger capacity to 202 from 210. Her sister ship, formerly ''Cape Cod Light'' was acquired in 2017, similarly refit, and recommissioned as ''Victory II''. During the covid pandemic the ''Victory I'' was pulled from service due to the cruising ban the ''Victory I'' was laid up at

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Career as ''Ocean Voyager''

On December 7, 2021, the ''Victory I'' was renamed ''Ocean Voyager''. She underwent a small refit at Port Royal. ''Ocean Voyager'' returned to service on January 4, 2022, doing cruises around the Yucatán Peninsula and returning to Great Lakes service in May, making her first stop in Chicago on June 8. On June 20, 2023, American Queen Voyages announced that they would no longer offer cruises on the Great Lakes, and would be selling the ''Ocean Voyager'' and ''

Ocean Navigator The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wor ...

''.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , url = http://greatlakescruising.com/new/victory.php , title = M/V VICTORY I: An elegant small ship, perfectly suited to coastal cruising , work = Great Lakes Cruising , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20170209104752/http://greatlakescruising.com/new/victory.php , archivedate = 2017-02-09 , accessdate = 2018-08-02 , url-status = live , quote = The indisputable joy of sailing is brought to life on the M/V Victory I, an agile small ship that easily navigates canals and locks, tranquil bays, and hidden ports where larger ships dare not go. {{cite web , url = http://www.marinelink.com/news/lawrence-aground-tundra393327.aspx , title = Tundra Aground in St. Lawrence Seaway , website = Marine Link , first = Aiswarya , last=Lakshmi , date = 22 June 2015 , accessdate = 22 June 2015 , quote = The 185 meter long drybulk vessel MV Tundra (30,892dwt, built 2009) owned by Canfornav, part of the Canadian Forest Navigation Group, has run aground overnight on the St. Lawrence Seaway at Lancaster, Ontario in Canada. {{cite news , url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-s-saint-laurent-cruise-ship-hits-lock-en-route-to-toronto-1.3119685 , title = Montreal's Saint Laurent cruise ship hits lock en route to Toronto , work =

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, date = 19 June 2015 , accessdate = 22 June 2015 , quote = Nineteen injured passengers and three injured crew members had to be removed from the ship with the help of fire officials late last night. All of the injuries appeared to be minor, according to FleetPro Passenger Ship Management, the company that manages the ship. {{cite news , url = http://www.tradewindsnews.com/casualties/362734/lock-traffic-on-track , title = Lock traffic on track , work = Trade Wind News , accessdate = 22 June 2015 , url-access=subscription {{cite web, url=http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/salty/#S , title=Foreign Ship Data & Photo Gallery: 2015 Season , website= Boatnerd , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622220053/http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/salty/ , archivedate=June 22, 2015 , accessdate=22 June 2015 , url-status=dead {{cite news , url = http://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/haimark-cancels-june-26-saint-laurent-departure.html , title = Haimark Cancels June 26 Saint Laurent Departure , work = Travel Pulse News , first= Theresa , last= Norton Masek , date = 22 June 2015 , accessdate = 22 June 2015 , quote = Haimark Line is operating the 210-passenger Saint Laurent on a long-term charter from FleetPro, the ship’s management company. It is now operating its inaugural season in New England, the Great Lakes and Maritime Canada through the fall foliage season. From late fall to early spring 2016, the Saint Laurent is scheduled to operate in the Caribbean, Central and South America. {{cite news , url = http://www.torontosun.com/2015/01/23/new-cruise-ship-will-sail-great-lakes-waters , title = New cruise ship will sail Great Lakes waters , newspaper =

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

, first = Bob , last=Boughner , date = 23 January 2015 , accessdate = 23 July 2015 , quote = A sister ship, the Pearl Mist, which cruised past our condo on the St. Clair River a few times last summer, attracting a great deal of attention from shore onlookers, also has a busy scheduled again this summer. In fact, the July 18 to 28 Great Lakes and Georgian Bay sailing is already sold out. Cruise ships of the United States 2000 ships