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Vasco da Gama (ship)

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Vasco da Gama in Liverpool, 2021
History
Name
  • 1992–2015: Statendam
  • 2015–2019: Pacific Eden
  • 2019–present: Vasco da Gama
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
Ordered1 March 1992
BuilderFincantieri, Italy
CostUS$180 million
Yard numberMonfalcone shipyard 5881
Laid down30 July 1991
Launched3 April 1992
CompletedJanuary 1993
Maiden voyage1993
In service1993
Identification
StatusIn Service
Notes[2][3][4]
General characteristics
Class and typeS-class cruise ship
Tonnage
Length219 m (718 ft 6 in)
Beam30.8 m (101 ft 1 in)
Height40 m (131 ft 3 in)
Draught7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Depth19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
Decks14
Deck clearance11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
Ice classD (minimum)
Installed power2 x Sulzer 12ZAV40S, 3 x Sulzer 8ZA40S
Propulsion2 x ABB 12,000 kW (16,000 hp)
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity1,258 passengers
Crew557
Notes[2][4]

Vasco da Gama is a cruise ship operated by German cruise line Nicko Cruises [de]. Completed in 1993, she previously sailed for Holland America Line as MS Statendam, for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Eden and for Cruise & Maritime Voyages as Vasco da Gama. In 2020, following CMV's filing for administration, she was sold by CW Kellock & Co Ltd. at auction to Mystic Cruises' parent company, Mystic Invest for US$10,187,000.

Construction and career

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Statendam, 1998

MS Statendam

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Vasco da Gama previously served as MS Statendam from 1993 to 2015, where she served as the lead member of Holland America Line's eponymous Statendam class, otherwise known as S class. She was ordered in November 1989 alongside two sister ships of her class, and was designated Hull Number 5881.[2] Her keel was laid by Fincantieri in 1991. From 1991 to 1993, the ship was completed and underwent sea trials, and on 25 January 1993, Statendam embarked on her maiden voyage. Upon her maiden voyage, she became the fifth Holland America Line ship to bear the name Statendam, and during the summer of her inaugural season, she also became the first Holland America Line ship to sail a European itinerary in over twenty years.[5]

During her early planning and architectural design phases, there were concerns that Statendam and the S class would not be in compliance with specific vessel stability requirements mandated by SOLAS 90. The hull design of Maasdam and her sister ships are largely based on Costa Classica, a ship operated by sister brand Costa Cruises. These fears were alleviated, however, following Statendam's successful sea trials.[2]

In 2006, Statendam underwent dry dock renovations at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport.

In 2011, Statendam once again underwent dry dock renovations at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport.[6]

In August 2013, Statendam was alerted by the Glacier Bay National Park ranger station that a nearby tour ship, Baranof Wind, was stranded in the ice of Hopkins Glacier, and unable to continue to Glacier Bay National Park. On arrival Statendam lowered two lifeboats to rescue approximately 105 passengers and crew. They were disembarked at Glacier Bay National Park ranger station three hours later.[7]

On 20 May 2014, Holland America Line announced that Statendam would be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia.[8]

Pacific Eden

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Pacific Eden in Fremantle, 2015

After concluding her final season with Holland America Line, Statendam sailed to Singapore for dry dock at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard. From 22 October to 2 November 2015, Statendam underwent extensive interior and exterior changes, emerging as the new Pacific Eden.[9] In an attempt to garner global social media recognition for the introduction of two new flagships, P&O Cruises Australia broadcast the ships' christening ceremony on Twitter and through their godmothers' social media accounts. On 25 November 2015, Pacific Eden and her sister, Pacific Aria, were renamed at a ceremony held in Port Jackson, Sydney. Kate Ritchie served as the godmother for Pacific Eden.[10]

Vasco da Gama

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In March 2018 Pacific Eden was sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), with delivery in March 2019.[11] Following the purchase, members of CMV's Columbus Club were asked to choose between four names that honoured famous explorers: Vasco da Gama, Pytheas, Henry Hudson, and Amerigo Vespucci; Vasco da Gama was chosen.[12] After a refit in Singapore, Vasco da Gama sailed on 23 April 2019 for Tilbury on her inaugural cruise, with calls in Malaysia, Thailand, India, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, celebrating her namesake's travels.[13] On 9 June 2019 she was christened in Bremerhaven by German singer Annett Louisan, entering service with CMV's TransOcean Tours.[14] The ship's deployment was to spend the European summer with Transocean before repositioning to Australia for the southern summer under the CMV brand.[12]

CMV's Vasco da Gama at Burnie, 2019

During the COVID-19 pandemic, two CMV ships swapped passengers at sea off Phuket to allow all Europeans to return direct to Tilbury on Columbus; Australian and New Zealand passengers joined Vasco da Gama, which docked in Fremantle, Australia on 27 March 2020.[15][16] Despite no positive cases, the 197 West Australian passengers were ferried to Rottnest Island, which had been converted to a quarantine zone, to self-isolate; another 600 Australians quarantined in Perth hotels, and some 100 New Zealand passengers were flown to Auckland.[17][18] All CMV's operations were suspended, and Vasco da Gama subsequently sailed without passengers to Tilbury, arriving on 30 April.[16]

On 19 May, a male Indonesian crew member fell from deck 12 of the ship while it was docked at the Port of Tilbury, London's main port, and landed on a cargo container that had been placed on the dock next to the ship.[19] One source reported that he died from the fall, while another reported that he was seriously injured but there was no confirmation that he had died, and a third reported that he was being treated at a hospital.[20][19][21] The crew member had been working as a storekeeper in the ship's supply area.[20] Vasco da Gama had been docked at Tilbury since 1 May, after having repatriated passengers to Australia.[19] Crew members have complained that they have not been paid and are frustrated with Cruise & Maritime Voyages.[a][20][19]

Unable to trade, CMV entered administration on 20 July 2020 and in October, Mystic Invest bought the ship at auction, on behalf of Mystic Cruises, for US$10,187,000.[22][23] Since July 2021, she has sailed for Mystic Invest's German cruise brand, nicko cruises.[24]

Nicko cruises' Vasco da Gama leaving Kiel, 2023

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ For example, one crew member complained that they have not been paid for work since April; that they have been locked up for two months, with neither alcohol nor cigarettes, only water and juice; and that Wi-Fi has only been available starting at midnight.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Statendam ID 6179, Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch)
  2. ^ a b c d "Cruise Ship Statendam (and sister ships)" (PDF). June 1993. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Shipboard Environmental (data) Acquisition System". US NOAA. June 1993. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Statendam". VesselTracker. 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  5. ^ "140 Years Young: Statendam Enters Service | Holland America Blog". 25 January 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ Line, Holland America. "Holland America Line's MS Statendam Completes Signature of Excellence Upgrades". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Statendam to the Rescue". Holland America Line. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Ryndam & Statendam to Move to Sister Line P&O Cruises | Holland America Blog". 20 May 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  9. ^ "It's time! the transformation of Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden begins". Carnival Australia. 22 October 2015.
  10. ^ "P&O to Make History as Australian Stars Name Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden by Twitter". Carnival Corporation. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  11. ^ Mathisen, Monty (7 March 2018). "Pacific Eden Sold to Cruise and Maritime Voyages". Cruise Industry News. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  12. ^ a b Chua, Bernadette (22 March 2018). "CMV names its newest ship Vasco da Gama". Cruise Passenger. Hornsby, NSW. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  13. ^ Hutcheon, Helen (23 April 2019). "CMV's Vasco da Gama sets sail from Singapore after rebranding". Cruise News. Colchester: Seatrade. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  14. ^ Smith, Alex (18 October 2019). "Columbus Cruise Center Bremerhaven breaks cruise passenger record". Cruise & Ferry. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Two cruise ships swap passengers at sea amid port closures". Safety4Sea. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  16. ^ a b "CMV's Vasco da Gama Returns to London Tilbury". Cruise Industry News. New York. 30 April 2020. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Vasco da Gama passengers finally disembark". Travel Weekly. Surry Hills, NSW. 31 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  18. ^ De Poloni, Gian; Laschon, Eliza (30 March 2020). "Coronavirus patients from Artania cruise ship sent to Joondalup hospital after 29 new COVID-19 positive tests". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  19. ^ a b c d "Crew Member Seriously Injured After falling From Vasco da Gama". Cruise Law News. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  20. ^ a b c d "Indonesian Crew Member Goes Overboard From CMV Cruise Ship". crew-center.com. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Crew member in hospital after falling from cruise ship moored up at Port of Tilbury". Thurrock Nub News. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  22. ^ "Here's What an Entire Cruise Fleet Sold for at Auction". Cruise Industry News. 8 November 2020. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  23. ^ "Mystic Cruises buys Vasco da Gama, first CMV ship to be auctioned". 13 October 2020.
  24. ^ Niklas (14 July 2021). "Vasco Da Gama: Erste Reise für nicko cruises hat begonnen" [Vasco da Gama: First cruise for nicko cruises has begun]. Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten (in German). Retrieved 13 September 2022.

Further reading

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