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''Celestyal Crystal'', previously ''Louis Cristal'', is 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 "s ...
operated by the
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
-based
Celestyal Cruises Celestyal Cruises (formed in 2014) is a succession to Louis Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines. The Cruise line was a subsidiary of Louis plc (Founded in 1935 as the first travel agency in Cyprus) until November 2021 when Searchlight Capital Partners ...
and previously
Louis Cruise Lines Celestyal Cruises (formed in 2014) is a succession to Louis Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines. The Cruise line was a subsidiary of Louis plc (Founded in 1935 as the first travel agency in Cyprus) until November 2021 when Searchlight Capital Partners ...
, both in the Louis Group. The ship was originally built as the
cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...
MS ''Viking Saga'' in 1980 at
Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...
Perno Shipyard Perno shipyard is a shipyard in Turku, southwest Finland, that specialises in building cruise ships, passenger ferries, special vessels and offshore projects. The yard area is . The yard is operated by Meyer Turku Oy. The dry dock is long, wid ...
and Turku Shipyard,
Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
for
Rederi Ab Sally Rederi Ab Sally was a Finnish shipping company founded in 1937 by Algot Johansson. Originally a tanker operator, Sally became a dominant member of the Viking Line shipping consortium in the 1970s. The company met bad times in the 1980s and was bo ...
. In 1986 she was renamed MS ''Sally Albatross'', and rebuilt into a cruise ship the following year. The ship was destroyed by a fire in 1990, and completely rebuilt at
Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companie ...
,
Rauma, Finland Rauma (; sv, Raumo) is a town and municipality of around () inhabitants on the west coast of Finland, north of Turku, and south of Pori. Its neighbouring municipalities are Eura, Eurajoki, Laitila and Pyhäranta. Granted town privileges on 17 ...
. She was re-delivered in 1992, still named ''Sally Albatross''. After partially sinking 1994 she was rebuilt at Industrie Navali Meccaniche Affini,
La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, re-entering service as MS ''Leeward'' for
Norwegian Cruise Line 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 ...
. Subsequently she sailed as MS ''SuperStar Taurus'' for
Star Cruises Star Cruises was a cruise line headquartered in Hong Kong and operating in the Asia-Pacific market. The company was owned by Genting Hong Kong. It was the eighteenth largest cruise line in the world after Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbea ...
, MS ''Silja Opera'' for
Silja Line Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy—is a subsidiary ...
and spent a year laid up as MS ''Opera'' prior to entering service with her current owner in 2007. Although the 1980 ship and the 1992 ship appear superficially unalike both externally and internally, they share the same
IMO number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term covering two distinct meanings. The IMO ship identification number, is a type of hull number used as a unique ship identifier, and the IMO company and registered owner ...
because they are technically the same ship.


History


''Viking Saga''

The ship was originally built in 1980 for
Rederi Ab Sally Rederi Ab Sally was a Finnish shipping company founded in 1937 by Algot Johansson. Originally a tanker operator, Sally became a dominant member of the Viking Line shipping consortium in the 1970s. The company met bad times in the 1980s and was bo ...
, one of
Viking Line Viking Line Abp is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Viking Line is operated from ...
partners as the
cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...
MS ''Viking Saga''. The bow and stern modules were built at Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard and the middle part was made at Wärtsilä
Perno Shipyard Perno shipyard is a shipyard in Turku, southwest Finland, that specialises in building cruise ships, passenger ferries, special vessels and offshore projects. The yard area is . The yard is operated by Meyer Turku Oy. The dry dock is long, wid ...
. The modules were assembled together and the ship was launched in Perno and the hull was tugged after to Turku Shipyard for outfitting. In 1979-1981 the Baltic ferry operators
Silja Line Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy—is a subsidiary ...
and
Viking Line Viking Line Abp is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Viking Line is operated from ...
brought several new cruiseferries to the routes connecting
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
to
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
and
Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
. Viking Line received a total of four new ships in 1980 alone, three of which were built for Rederi AB Sally. The ''Viking Saga'' and her sister ship MS ''Viking Song'' were built by
Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...
(now
Aker Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companie ...
) in
Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
, Finland. MS ''Viking Sally'' (later MS ''Estonia'') was built at the
Meyer Werft Meyer Werft is one of the major German shipyards, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. Founded in 1795 and starting with small wooden vessels, today Meyer Werft is a builder of luxury passenger ships. 700 ships of different types have be ...
shipyard in
Papenburg Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners. Geog ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Two of the Sally ships have been involved in a total of three serious accidents. The ''Viking Saga'' was the first genuine cruiseferry in Finland — Sweden traffic. The interior and exterior design of her and her sister was heavily influenced by those of GTS ''Finnjet'' of 1977. The ''Viking Saga'' and ''Viking Song'', alongside Silja Line's contemporary MS ''Finlandia'' and MS ''Silvia Regina'', were instrumental in turning the Helsinki — Stockholm route into a popular cruise route. In June 1982, the ship was sold by Rederi Ab Sally to Suomen Yritysrahoitus, who chartered her back to Sally. In 1985 the ''Viking Saga'' hit bottom near
Sandhamn Sandhamn (Swedish for "Sand Harbour") is a small settlement in the central-peripheral part of the Stockholm Archipelago in central-eastern Sweden, approximately 50 km (30 mi) east of Stockholm. Sandhamn is located on the island Sandö ...
in the Stockholm archipelago, and had to be docked in Stockholm.


''Sally Albatross'' (I)

After MS ''Olympia'' replaced her on the Helsinki — Stockholm route in April 1986, the ''Viking Saga'' was rebuilt for use as a cruise ship at Wärtsilä
Helsinki New Shipyard Hietalahti shipyard (also known as Helsinki New Shipyard, fi, Helsingin uusi telakka) is a shipyard in Hietalahti, in downtown Helsinki, Finland. Since 2019, it has been operated by a company named Helsinki Shipyard. History The shipyard, fi ...
. She did not become a "real" cruise ship as her cardecks were not built in. During conversion there was a fire on board, but it was extinguished by the shipyard staff. Renamed ''Sally Albatross'', the ship entered service for the new
Sally Cruise Sally Cruise was a wholly owned subsidiary of Rederi Ab Sally, Finland that operated cruise ships on the Baltic Sea between the years 1986 and 1992. It was merged into Silja Line 1992. Company history Rederi Ab Sally had been, until the early ...
brand in May 1986. She was mainly used for cruising around the Baltic Sea from Helsinki. In 1987 Rederi Ab Sally was sold to its rivals Effoa and Johnson Line. In January–February 1988 the ''Sally Albatross'' was comprehensively rebuilt at
Schichau Seebeckwerft Schichau Seebeckwerft (often abbreviated SSW) was a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft. History The original company Schichau was founded in 1837 by Fer ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, where additional cabin were built on the former upper cardeck, the forward superstructure was built to a more streamlined appearance and smaller changes were made to the bow and other parts of the superstructure. At the same time the ships livery was altered, in addition to the light and dark blue stripes running along the hull black stripes were painted along the windows of the superstructure, giving the ship an even more streamlined appearance. The cost of the reconstruction was 35 million Finnish
markka The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...
.


Fire

In January 1990, while docked at the Finnboda Shipyard in
Nacka Nacka () is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to a 16th-century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mil ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, for reconstruction of the ship's restaurants, nightclub and conference facilities, practically the entire superstructure of the ship was damaged beyond repair by a fire which had started from drops of liquid metal sparkling on flammable material. The ships' sprinkler system was turned off for the duration of the docking, fire hydrants were dry and the temporary fire water supply was disconnected. In addition to this the fire watchman left for lunch during the hot work. Due to the danger of gas bottles (
oxy-acetylene Principle of burn cutting Oxy-fuel welding (commonly called oxyacetylene welding, oxy welding, or gas welding in the United States) and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases (or liquid fuels such as gasoline or petrol, diesel, ...
used in the reconstruction) exploding in the heat, the fire brigade withdrew from the interior of two decks under reconstruction, after having rescued the two crew members that were missing during the initial phase of the fire. Further fire fighting was conducted from the outside and from the decks above and below the reconstruction work. As a result, the ship burned extensively for three days. All workers and crew (and an American actress who had been on board) were rescued by the fire brigade and a crane operator from the shipyard and there were no deaths.


''Sally Albatross'' (II)


Reconstruction

The burnt-out hull was first towed to
Mäntyluoto Mäntyluoto ( sv, Tallholmen) is a district in Pori, Finland. It is mostly industrial and harbour area, including the Mäntyluoto Harbour which is a part of the Port of Pori. Mäntyluoto is the terminus of the Tampere–Pori railway. The Mäntylu ...
, Finland, where she was partially scrapped, leaving only the hull below cardeck intact. After this the remains were towed into
Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...
, Finland where the remaining hull was cut into several sections. These were then transported to
Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companie ...
shipyard in
Rauma, Finland Rauma (; sv, Raumo) is a town and municipality of around () inhabitants on the west coast of Finland, north of Turku, and south of Pori. Its neighbouring municipalities are Eura, Eurajoki, Laitila and Pyhäranta. Granted town privileges on 17 ...
where they were used as the basis of a new ship with the project name ''Sally Eurocruiser''. She was to be a genuine cruiseship, without a cardeck. The hull was lengthened by 13 meters compared to the original, and the passenger (cabin) capacity was increased by 452, so the new ship was actually larger than the old one. One notable piece retained from the original ship were the engines. The cost of the rebuilding was approximately 700 million Finnish markka. In essence this was a completely new ship, and she is usually listed as such in most sources. Her owners decided to keep the name ''Sally Albatross'', which has led to some sources (and many passengers) to consider the second ''Sally Albatross'' to be the same ship as the first. The new ''Sally Albatross'' was delivered to
Sally Cruise Sally Cruise was a wholly owned subsidiary of Rederi Ab Sally, Finland that operated cruise ships on the Baltic Sea between the years 1986 and 1992. It was merged into Silja Line 1992. Company history Rederi Ab Sally had been, until the early ...
on 23 March 1992 and started doing cruises in the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
with Helsinki as the port of departure, in a similar arrangement as she had done in the late 80's. In July of the same year she was chartered to Svea 92 (a Swedish consortium for advancing exports) as a hotel and conference ship for the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
for 1 000 000 Finnish
markka The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...
per day. Originally Svea 92 had wanted to charter Silja Line's Swedish-flagged MS ''Svea'' (which would have matched the name better). In September that same year ''Sally Albatross'' was transferred to
Silja Line Silja Line is a Swedish-Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car, cargo and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy—today Tallink Silja Oy—is a subsidiary ...
, who also were a part of the EffJohn concern. Despite joining the Silja fleet ''Sally Albatross'' old colour scheme and Sally Cruise funnel colours were maintained. On 4 March 1994 ''Sally Albatross'' ran aground in the ice covered sea outside
Porkkala Porkkalanniemi ( sv, Porkala udd) is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland. The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be able to shoot more than half ...
. She was towed to shallow waters and her passengers evacuated. After this the ship was left on site, listing badly. While preparations were made to re-float her. Re-floating the ship proved to be a complicated process, and it was not until 16 April that the ship was afloat again. She was then towed to the abandoned
Vuosaari shipyard Vuosaari shipyard was a shipyard located in the district of Vuosaari in Helsinki, Finland. Built by the Finnish state-owned company Valmet Oy in the early 1970s, the shipyard delivered 33 newbuildings and participated in building around 100 other ...
(where she arrived on 20 April) where the most necessary repairs were made. After inspection it was determined that the cost to repair the damage would be around 200 million
FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...
($35 million
USD 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 ...
).


''Leeward'' / ''SuperStar Taurus''

In October 1994 the ship was towed to
La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
where she was repaired and rebuilt for international cruise traffic. She was then chartered to
Norwegian Cruise Line 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 ...
who renamed her ''Leeward'' and put her on cruises in the
Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
from July 1995 onwards. In March 2000 the ship was chartered for three years to
Star Cruises Star Cruises was a cruise line headquartered in Hong Kong and operating in the Asia-Pacific market. The company was owned by Genting Hong Kong. It was the eighteenth largest cruise line in the world after Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbea ...
(owners of Norwegian Cruise Line) who renamed her ''Superstar Taurus'' and used her on various cruises around
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, mostly cruising from
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. In December 2001 Star Cruises broke the charter contract and the ship was once again in the hands of Silja Line.


''Silja Opera''

''Superstar Taurus'' sailed back to Europe, and between February and June 2002 she was vastly rebuilt at
Turku Repair Yard sv, Åbo Reparationsvarv Ab , native_name_lang = , romanized_name = , former_name = , type = , traded_as = , ISIN = , industry = ship and boat repair and maintenance , genre = , fate = , predecessor = Wärtsilä Marine , succe ...
,
Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...
, Finland for cruise service on the Baltic Sea. On 1 June 2002 the ship was renamed ''Silja Opera'' and placed under Swedish flag. ''Silja Opera'' (re)started cruising the Baltic Sea on 29 June 2002, with
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
as the starting point. She followed a similar itinerary as she had done as ''Sally Albatross'', making one-day cruise from Helsinki and two-night cruises to
Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...
,
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
(discontinued after one season) and
St. Petersburg 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 ...
. The ship already had a reputation as a ship of bad luck amongst the public (she had after all burnt out completely once and partially sunk only a few years later, in addition to smaller mishaps), and this was not helped when in September 2003 she collided with three cargo-ships in
Saint Petersburg 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 ...
, resulting in minor damage to all parties. Less than two months later, in almost precisely same spot, she collided with a Russian icebreaker. ''Silja Opera''s cruises from Helsinki were not very popular, and in October 2004 she began making cruises from Stockholm to Tallinn (via
Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...
in order to have tax-free sales on board). These too failed to find popularity, and in February 2005 she was transferred back to cruising from Helsinki. Around this same time her white-dominant livery was changed to one closely resembling her ''Sally''-era livery, but with blue stripes instead of black. With the ship continuing to lose money, in September 2005 Silja Line made public its plans to use cheaper foreign workforce on board. However they could not do so under the terms Swedish maritime worker's collective labour agreement. Two months later Silja Line decided to cut costs by concentrating on their core markets and the ''Silja Opera'', alongside the prestigious GTS ''Finnjet'', was to be sold. In January 2006 ''Silja Opera'' made her last cruises from Helsinki, after which she was transferred to the
Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
—Mariehamn—
Kapellskär Kapellskär () is a port about north of Stockholm, in Sweden. It is located by the Baltic Sea, in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County. Services The port is served by frequent passenger ferry services to Mariehamn, Åland, Finland, operated ...
route in place of MS ''Silja Europa'' (that was in turn transferred to Helsinki—Stockholm route while the normal ships of that route were being rebuilt). On 13 February 2006, the ''Silja Opera'' stopped sailing for Silja Line, and three days later she was laid up Stockholm, waiting for potential buyers. On 22 May 2006, ''Silja Opera'' left Stockholm for the last time bound for lay up at
Tilbury Docks The Port of Tilbury is a port on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for contai ...
, located to the east of
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...
. The ship arrived on 25 May, soon afterwards the Silja Line markings were painted over and her ownership was transferred to
SeaContainers Sea Containers was a Bermudan registered company which operated two main business areas: transport and container leasing. It filed for bankruptcy on 16 October 2006. In 2009 its maritime container interests were transferred to a new company SeaCo ...
, then the parent company of Silja Line. At the same time she was changed from Swedish to Bahamian flag and her name was shortened to ''Opera''.


''Crystal''

In May 2007 the ''Opera'' was sold to the
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
-based
Louis Cruise Lines Celestyal Cruises (formed in 2014) is a succession to Louis Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines. The Cruise line was a subsidiary of Louis plc (Founded in 1935 as the first travel agency in Cyprus) until November 2021 when Searchlight Capital Partners ...
to replace MS ''Sea Diamond'' that had sunk some months before. After rebuilding at Pireus,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
the ship was renamed MS ''Crystal'' and started service for the Louis Hellenic Cruise Lines -brand in July 2007.


''Celestyal Crystal''

As part of
Louis Cruise Lines Celestyal Cruises (formed in 2014) is a succession to Louis Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines. The Cruise line was a subsidiary of Louis plc (Founded in 1935 as the first travel agency in Cyprus) until November 2021 when Searchlight Capital Partners ...
re-brand as Celestyal Cruises, announced in November 2014, ''Crystal'' was renamed ''Celestyal Crystal'' and received a new livery. On 27 June 2015, ''Celestyal Crystal'' collided with the tanker in the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
off
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
, Turkey. Three people sustained minor injuries. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
all cruises from March 16, 2020 to March 6, 2021 were suspended.


References


External links


Louis Cruise Lines official page for M/S ''Cristal''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celestyal Crystal Cruise ships of Finland Ships built in Turku Ships of Celestyal Cruises 1980 ships Maritime incidents in 1990 Maritime incidents in 1994 Cruise ships of Panama Cruise ships of Greece Cruise ships of Sweden Cruise ships of the Bahamas Cruise ships of Malta