Blue Sapphire
Saga Sapphire in Kiel, 2018
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The Blue Sapphire is a cruise ship that was completed at the end of 1981 and started up on January 8, 1982 as Europe for Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten . At that time, the design with a length of 200 meters and a measurement of 30,000 GRT corresponded to the largest new cruise ship in the world. The ship stayed in service until 1999 at Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten. Anex Tour has been operating the ship as Blue Sapphire since 2020 .
history
Construction and commissioning at Hapag-Lloyd
In the 1970s, recorded for Hapag-Lloyd increasingly clear that the former, as Kungsholm built Europe (IV) are no longer met, replacing the ever increasing demands of its cruise passengers with a new building had to. That is why Hapag-Lloyd planned a new Europe and put this contract out to tender in 1977. Basic specifications for the shipyards were a capacity for 600 passengers, the minimum size of the cabins of 21 square meters and a maximum proportion of 21 percent interior cabins. A merger of Bremer Werften AG Weser and Bremer Vulkan won the tender. In 1978, Hapag-Lloyd commissioned the Bremer Vulkan shipyard with the construction of the new Europe for a total price of 176 million DM. The costs for the shipyard were ultimately much higher at around 260 million DM, so that it incurred a loss with the construction. Originally the AG Weser was supposed to produce the front half of the fuselage with the cabin wing, but at the turn of 1979/80 it was decided to build the Europa completely at Bremer Vulkan.
The keel of the ship was laid on April 1, 1980, the launch and christening of the ship by the President of the European Parliament, Simone Veil , took place on December 22, 1980 in Bremen- Vegesack . About twelve months later, on December 6, 1981, the ship was completed, which was then taken over by Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten. The maiden voyage started on January 8, 1982 from Genoa to destinations in Africa .
In the first year of the Europa mission , one could look to the future with satisfaction. The capacity utilization of the ship was already at 90 percent, although the passenger capacity was considerably higher than that of old Europe .
For the 150th anniversary of Hapag-Lloyd in 1997, it was announced that a new Europa (VI) would be built. This was put into service in 1999. This ended the Europe (V) era at Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten.
Star cruises
On April 5, 1998, Star Cruises from Asia bought the ship. It was chartered by Hapag-Lloyd until June 30, 1999 and officially taken over by the new owner in Hamburg on July 1, 1999 . Before the ship went on a cruise for the new shipping company for the first time, it was updated and completely overhauled for US $ 15 million at the Sembawang shipyard in Singapore . There were u. a. Balconies built into the suites.
The ship was used under the name SuperStar Europe from October 1999 for cruises from Laem Chabang , Thailand . In February 2000, the ship was renamed SuperStar Aries . It continued to call at Asian ports in cruise operations. In March 2001, Star Cruises planned to transfer the ship to Orient Lines in 2002 and operate it there under the name Ocean Voyager . The attacks of September 11, 2001 thwarted these plans, as the number of passengers then drastically reduced. Therefore, the SuperStar Aries was used for cruises to Thailand and China .
Pullmantur Cruises
In March 2004, Pullmantur Cruises bought the ship and shipped it to Spain . It was in Holiday Dream renamed and went cruising the Mediterranean from Barcelona , Spain, later it cruised in the Caribbean . Since the ship had only been rebuilt a few years earlier, only the decorations in the interior were changed.
CDF Croisieres de France
In September 2007, Royal Caribbean International, as the new owner of Pullmantur Cruises, announced that it would be using a new cruise ship for its subsidiary CDF Croisieres de France for the French market. For this purpose, the ship was rebuilt in spring 2008 for 30 million EUR at MML Shipbuilding, Barcelona, and adapted to French needs and tastes. Now the ship was the first ship of the French CDF Croisieres de France under the new name Bleu de France . In the summer season it was used for cruises in the Mediterranean from Marseille , in the winter it was used for cruises in the Caribbean from La Romana , Dominican Republic . Later it drove for the Brazilian CVC.
Saga Cruises
In 2011, the British Saga Cruises confirmed the purchase of the Bleu de France , which should start its service there in 2012. Between November 2011 and February 2012 the ship was overhauled at the Fincantieri shipyard in Trieste . The facility was renewed, new cabins installed, the ship's diesel engine overhauled and new exterior paintwork attached. The ship was renamed Saga Sapphire .
On the first voyage under the new name in mid-April 2012, there was a machine failure that ruined the planned cruise. The passengers got their full travel price back and a discount for future cruises.
As of March 2020, both Saga Cruises ships, the Saga Sapphire and the Spirit of Discovery , were moored in Tilbury to be used as floating hospitals if necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic .
In 2018, Saga Cruises announced that the Saga Sapphire 2020 will be replaced by the new Spirit of Adventure and will leave the Saga Cruises fleet.
Anex tour
In 2019, Anex Tourism Group signed a contract with Saga Holidays to take over the ship in 2020. Anex Tour took over the ship in June 2020. In July 2020, the ship was renamed Blue Sapphire .
Incidents
- On August 3, 1985, the ship ran aground off the coast of Greenland . It was made afloat again three days later.
- On the morning of April 29, 1992, the Europa collided with the Greek container ship Inchon Glory in thick fog, about 330 kilometers from Hong Kong , causing considerable damage to the stern. Fortunately, there were no passengers or crew in these compartments at the time of the collision, so nobody was harmed. The Europa was towed to Kaohsiung , Taiwan , where the passengers disembarked. The ship was then transferred to Singapore for repairs . It resumed its service on July 7, 1992. The Inchon Glory was scrapped in Huangpu from August 1992.
See also
literature
- Andreas Dölling: MS EUROPA , HR and Business Solutions, Klinkrade 2007, ISBN 978-3-937848-03-7
Web links
- Information on the radio system of the Europa V
- Europa V in Kiel
- Details about the Holiday Dream
- Details about the Bleu de France
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Saga Sapphire. DNV GL, accessed January 30, 2020 .
- ↑ Bremer Vulkan builds "Europe" in ship & port / command bridge, issue 1/1980, p. 13.
- ^ Another Cruise Ship Suffers Engine Trouble on Maiden Voyage , The Maritime Executive, April 16, 2012.
- ^ Paul Thompson: Exclusive: Two giant cruise ships on standby to act as floating hospitals at Tilbury Docks as UK cruise company offers them to the government to help cope with coronavirus crisis. Mail Online, March 19, 2020, accessed on March 21, 2020 .
- ↑ Saga Sapphires sparkling farewell sailings. Press release. Saga, June 21, 2018, accessed January 30, 2020 .
- ↑ Turkey: Thomas Cook investor Anex Tour signs contract with Saga Holiday for the purchase of MS Sapphire , Seereisenportal, August 8, 2019.
- ↑ ANEX Tour buys Saga Sapphire cruise ship from Saga plc. - Maiden voyage from mid-2020 , Seereisenportal, August 9, 2019.
- ^ Saga Completes the Sale of the Saga Sapphire to Anex Tour. June 18, 2020, accessed June 18, 2020 .