MV ''Ocean Majesty'' 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 ...

, originally built in 1966 as the

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

''Juan March''. The ship is now registered in the International Shipping Register of Madeira (MAR),

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

History

''Ocean Majesty'' was launched as ''Juan March'' for the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

based ferry operator

Trasmediterránea Trasmediterránea operates passengers and cargo ferries between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and northern Africa's Spanish territories. Since 2017 the majority of the company belongs to Naviera Armas. History Th ...

. She was the first of two near identical ''Albatros''-class sisters, the other being the ''Las Palmas de Gran Canaria''. During her service with her original owners ''Juan March'' was mainly used to ferry passengers from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

. In 1985 ''Juan March'' was sold to the Sol Mediterranean and became ''Sol Christina''. She was not operated long by these owners, and was sold to become the ''Kyros Star'' of Opale Lines. She was then sold to Majestic International Cruises, who rebuilt her from her original ferry-like form into a cruise ship, and she received her current name ''Ocean Majesty''. Majestic International operated her for several years, until they chartered ''Ocean Majesty'' to Epirotiki in 1994, the latter company renamed her ''Homeric''. ''Homeric'' operated for a year until her charter expired, and she was subsequently returned to Majestic International and named ''Ocean Majesty'' once again. Majestic International has chartered her to many different companies since 1995, most frequently to the British vacation company Page & Moy. Since 2013 she has been operated by German cruise company Hansa Touristik between May and October. During 2021 was laid up at Chalkis Shipyard, Greece before returning to service. After being laid up for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ''Ocean Majesty'' sailed for Hansa during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In August 2023, the ship was taken out of service in order to serve as an asylum hotel in Velsen. There, it replaced ''

Silja Europa MS Silja Europa is a cruiseferry constructed at Meyer Werft Germany for the Swedish ferry operator Rederi AB Slite, a part of Viking Line. At 59,914 gross tonnage (GT), she is the largest ship commissioned for and to ever operate for Tallink Si ...

''.https://www.nordsee-zeitung.de/Region/Dieses-traumhafte-Kreuzfahrtschiff-soll-bald-ein-Fluechtlingsheim-sein-154354.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean Majesty 1965 ships Cruise ships of Portugal Passenger ships of Spain Cruise ships of the United Kingdom