''Costa Marina'' was a

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 ...

, last owned by Polaris Shipping and operated by Harmony Cruises. She was built in 1969 by the

Wärtsilä Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technol ...

Turku Shipyard in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

as the

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

''Axel Johnson'' for the Sweden-based Rederi AB Nordstjernan and operated on their Johnson Line services. In 1986 she was sold to

Regency Cruises A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

with the intention of being converted into a cruise ship under the name ''Regent Sun'', but she was laid up instead. In 1987 she was sold to and renamed ''Italia'' but continued laid up. In 1988 the ship was acquired by Costa Cruises, renamed ''Costa Marina'' and rebuilt into a cruise ship at the

T. Mariotti T. Mariotti S.p.A. is an Italian shipbuilder based in Genoa, Italy. The company specializes in building small cruise ship - mainly focused on the luxury market, superyachts and offshore vessels. The company also does refits of ships and yachts. T ...

shipyard in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

, Italy. She entered service as the ''Costa Marina'' in 1990. From 2002 she was marketed more towards German passengers.

On August 3, 2011 it was announced by parent company

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...

that new ships would be built for Costa to replace their older ships, starting with the ''Costa Marina''. The ''Costa Marina'' left the fleet in November 2011, and was initially replaced by

Iberocruceros Ibero Cruises ( es, Ibero Cruceros) was a British- American and Spanish owned cruise line based in Madrid, Spain. The cruise line was aimed at the Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets. Iberocruceros operated voyages from Europe, the Mediterra ...

' '' Grand Voyager'' for her Red Sea cruises. ''Costa Marina'' was chartered to South Korea’s Harmony Cruise and renamed ''Harmony Princess'' with

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

registry, for cruises between Korea and Japan. In 2012, her owners renamed her ''Club Harmony'', but she was laid up in January 2013. In September 2014, she was sold for demolition in India and arrived at

Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Ala ...

the following month as ''Harmony 1''.

References

External links

Costa Cruises
{{Costa Cruises Ships of Costa Cruises Ships built in Turku 1969 ships Container ships