MV ''China Star'' (''中华之星'') is the world's largest ship with a

SWATH A small waterplane area twin hull, better known by the acronym SWATH, is a catamaran design that minimizes hull cross section area at the sea's surface. Minimizing the ship's volume near the surface area of the sea, where wave energy is located ...

design, and the only twin-hull

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 k ...

ever built.

History

Built as the ''Radisson Diamond'', the ship was built for Diamond Cruise, a conglomerate of several Finnish banks and the UKL-based

Carlson Companies Carlson is an American privately held company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States. Its primary subsidiary is Carlson Private Capital Partners, a family office that manages the owners' wealth. It previously held interests in hote ...

(the parent company of Radisson Cruises and Hotels). The ship was built by

Finnyards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbuilding companie ...

in Rauma, Finland. The ship sailed for Radisson Seven Seas Cruises from 1992 to 2005, before being sold to become a gambling ship in 2005. It was sold and has operated in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

as the

gambling ship A gambling ship is the term for a ship stationed offshore in or transiting to international waters to evade local anti-gambling laws that is dedicated to games of chance. This applies both to ships which are permanently moored somewhere outside ...

''Asia Star'' for

Asia Cruises Asia Cruises (formerly Asia Cruiser Club) is a cruise line operating from Hong Kong. It launched the ''Captain Omar'' in 1997, and later acquired various cruise liners including ''Omar II'', ''Omar III'' and '' Asia Star''. The company is controlle ...

beginning in 2005, and the ship was later renamed China Star and was operated by several operators. The ship is currently laid up in Shenzhen, China. This 350-passenger all balcony luxury cruise ship was the largest SWATH ship in the world when it was built, measuring more than 20,000

gross tons Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...

. In June 2011, the ship was purchased for $45M by China Cruises Company Limited, the deal being led by Chinese millionaire entrepreneur Huang Weijian, CEO of CCCL. Another $20M was spent refurbishing her. Operation started on March 9, 2012, as the first ship of the new CCCL luxury cruise line. On September 21st 2022 the ''Saipan Star'' was blown aground by severe winds near

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. The ship remains abandoned and wrecked on sandbar as of last reported in 2023. File:Kreuzfahrtschiff RADISSON DIAMOND (Kiel 39.846).jpg, ''Radisson Diamond'' in May 1992 File:MS Radisson Diamond (4197445779).jpg, ''Radisson Diamond'' in Philipsburg St.Maarten File:MS Radisson Diamond - 4197447425.jpg, Exterior view of the three deck glass windowed forward observation lounge File:China Star. HK (50991221632).jpg, ''Radisson Diamond'' renamed as the ''China Star'' in Hong Kong

References

External links

China Cruises Company Limited

Independent professional photographs
from shipspotting.com {{DEFAULTSORT:China Star Cruise ships 1991 ships Ships built in Rauma, Finland