Regina Maris (ship, 1929)
 As an Argonaut off Harwich, July 1986
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The Regina Maris was a cruise ship owned by the Panama- based shipping company Regina Maris Cruises, which entered service in 1929 as a luxury yacht under the name Orion . The ship, which was used until 2002, was most recently the oldest active cruise ship in the world and was scrapped in India in 2004 .
Also significant was her use as USS Vixen (PG 53) in the service of the United States Navy during World War II .
history
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The Orion was built in the Germania shipyard in Kiel and delivered on July 27, 1929. The owner was the German-born New York businessman Julius Forstmann (1871-1939).
Fleet flagship
After Forstmann's death, the Orion was sold to the US Navy in 1940 and put into service as the Vixen patrol boat . The ship remained in service with the US Navy for ten years until it was sold in 1950 and returned to service as a private yacht under its old name Orion . After initially providing observation services on the Atlantic coast of the USA, it became the flagship and headquarters of the commander of the Atlantic fleet with the longest period of service (August 1942 - May 1946) during World War II .
Passenger and cruise ship
From 1954, the Orion was used as a liner for the McCormick Shipping Co. until it was sold to Epirotiki Lines in 1964 and converted into a cruise ship.
From 1965 the ship was used as an Argonaut for cruises in the Mediterranean and in the North and Baltic Seas . The Argonaut remained in service for the Epirotiki Line for over 30 years until it was sold in 1996 to the shipping company Regina Maris Cruises founded especially for it and renamed Regina Maris . After another six years in service, the now 73-year-old ship was decommissioned and laid up in Alexandria .
After two years of lay-in, the ship was sold in 2004 for scrapping in Alang , India , where she arrived on December 2, 2004. The Regina Maris was the oldest active cruise ship in the world until it was decommissioned.