MS Costa Marina explained

The MS Costa Marina was a cruise ship, last owned by Polaris Shipping and operated by Harmony Cruises.

History

The MS Costa Marina was originally built in 1969 as the container ship Axel Johnson by the Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland for the Sweden-based Rederi AB Nordstjernan and operated on their Johnson Line services. In 1986 she was sold to Regency Cruises with the intention of being converted into a cruise ship under named Regent Sun, but she was laid up instead. In 1987 she was sold to Navyclub Italia and renamed Italia, but continued laid up.[1] In 1988 the ship was acquired by Costa Cruises, renamed Costa Marina, and rebuilt into a cruise ship at the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, Italy. She entered service as the Costa Marina in 1990.[2] [3] From 2002 she was marketed more towards German passengers.

On August 3, 2011 it was announced by parent company Carnival that new ships would be built for Costa to replace their older ships, starting with the Costa Marina.[4]

The Costa Marina left the fleet in November 2011, and was initially replaced by Iberocruceros' Grand Voyager for her Red Sea cruises.[5] Costa Marina was chartered to South Korea’s Harmony Cruise and renamed Harmony Princess with Marshall Islands registry, for cruises between Korea and Japan.[6] In 2012, her owners renamed her Club Harmony,[7] but she was laid up in January 2013.

In September 2014, she was sold for scrap in India and arrived at Alang the following month as Harmony 1.[8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Costa Marina . castlesoftheseas.nl . https://web.archive.org/web/20240507100852/http://www.castlesoftheseas.nl/costa-marina.html . May 7, 2024 .
  2. Web site: M/S Axel Johnson (1969) . Asklander . Micke . Fakta om Fartyg . Swedish . 31 August 2011.
  3. News: Piet Sinke . Passengerships Cruising in the Mediterranean . https://web.archive.org/web/20060613224212/http://www.ibiblio.org/maritime/Scheepvaartnieuws/Pdf/scheepvaartnieuws/2002/specialeedities/cruise-1.PDF. PSi-Daily Shipping News . 1 November 2002 . 13 June 2006. 31 August 2011.
  4. Carnival Corporation & plc Orders New Ships for Its Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises Brands . Carnival Corporation & plc . 3 August 2011 . 31 August 2011.
  5. News: Staff writers . Costa Marina Leaves Fleet . Cruise Industry News . 14 July 2011 . 2 August 2011.
  6. Web site: El nuevo destino del Costa Marina. Noticias de Cruceros. 28 April 2012. Spanish. 29 November 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120413093849/http://noticiasdecruceros.com.ar/index.php/2011/11/29/el-nuevo-destino-del-costa-marina. 13 April 2012.
  7. Web site: Club Harmony offers luxurious, yet affordable journey . 2012-06-13 . dead . https://archive.today/20121126195012/http://110.45.173.105/www/news/art/2012/03/144_106084.html . 2012-11-26 .
  8. Web site: Equasis vessel folder (free login required) . 15 September 2014.