''Apollon XI'' was an

Epirotiki Lines Epirotiki was a shipping company that began in 1850. Epirotiki Line operated cruise vessels, cargo and tanker vessels. Foundation Anastassios Potamianos began his first shipping venture in 1850 transporting cargo and passengers along the Danu ...

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 Tourism, tours know ...

, which was named after both the Greek sun god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, a ...

mission that landed the first humans on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

. Initially it was built as a passenger ship under the name ''Irish Coast'' for

Coast Lines Ltd Coast Lines Limited provided shipping services in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Channel Islands from 1917 to 1971. History Powell, Bacon and Hough Lines Ltd was formed in 1913 in Liverpool. The name of Coast Lines Limited was adopted in 1 ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

. She was chartered by Burns & Laird Lines Ltd. for the service between

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, also from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

to Liverpool and for the service Glasgow - Dublin - Liverpool. In 1968 she was acquired by

Epirotiki Epirotiki was a shipping company that began in 1850. Epirotiki Line operated cruise vessels, cargo and tanker vessels. Foundation Anastassios Potamianos began his first shipping venture in 1850 transporting cargo and passengers along the Danu ...

and changed several names (''Orpheus'' in 1968, then ''Semiramis II'' and ''Achilleus'' in 1969) until she took the final name ''Apollon XI'' (or ''Apollon 11'') and was rebuilt as a cruise ship. She was used for cruises in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans an ...

, in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, in the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

(

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

) and in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. In 1982 she was renamed to ''Regency''. On 11 October 1989, she ran aground due to the typhoon Dan and was subsequently towed to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

(

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

) for

demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

. The ''Apollon XI'' and another Epirotiki ship, the MTS ''Oceanos'', were featured in the 1986 film ''

Hardbodies 2 ''Hardbodies 2'' is a 1986 adult comedy movie sequel to the 1984 film ''Hardbodies''. It was directed by Mark Griffiths and featured Brad Zutaut, Fabiana Udenio, James Karen and Alba Francesca. The plot involves two men, Scotty and Rags, and pai ...

''.

External links

M/S Irish Coast
on Micke Asklander's ship data website (in Swedish)
Ship data on the Wreck SiteIrish Coast
in Geoff Topp's postcard collection
Apollo official Epirotiki postcard
on the website of Simplon Postcards
Apollon 11
around 1970. 1952 ships Cruise ships Ships built in Belfast Ships built by Harland and Wolff Maritime incidents in 1989 1989 in the Philippines 1952 in Northern Ireland