MV ''Ocean Star Pacific'' 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 ...

owned by PV Enterprises International. She was built in 1971 by

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 ...

Helsinki Shipyard,

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 ...

for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and christened as MV ''Nordic Prince''. She subsequently sailed under the monikers ''Carousel'', ''Aquamarine'', and ''Arielle'', prior to being renamed ''Ocean Star Pacific''.

History

''Nordic Prince'' was the second ship to be built for Royal Caribbean, and one of the first modern purpose-built cruise ships. She was launched on 9 July 1970, and entered service for RCCL on 31 July 1971. Like her older sister, ''Song of Norway'', she was used for cruising on the Caribbean with

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as the starting port. In June 1980, the ship was lengthened at Wärtsilä Helsinki by 26 meters. When RCCL acquired new tonnage in the late 1980s, ''Nordic Prince'' was used for cruising around the world. Carousel Civitavecchia raether (cropped)

Carousel Civitavecchia raether (cropped)

''Nordic Prince'' became the first RCCL ship to be supplanted by larger tonnage in March 1995, when she was sold to Sun Cruises. Before the ship entered service for her new owners, the sky lounge around her funnel was removed. Renamed ''Carousel'', the ship began cruising for Sun Cruises on 6 May 1995. During her time with Sun Cruises she spent summers cruising on the

Mediterranean 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 th ...

but during the winter seasons she returned to the Caribbean. In February 2000, ''Carousel'' was grounded near

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, which led to cancellation of five cruises while she was being repaired. Toward the end of her service with Sun Cruises the ship received MyTravel funnel colours. In the early 2000s, Sun Cruises started pulling out of the cruise business. In July 2004, ''Carousel'' was sold to

Louis Cruise Lines Celestyal Cruises (formed in 2014) is a succession to Louis Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines. The Cruise line was a subsidiary of Louis plc (Founded in 1935 as the first travel agency in Cyprus) until November 2021 when Searchlight Capital Partners ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

, but chartered back to Sun Cruises until May 2005. ''Carousel'' was the last Sun Cruises ship in service. Carouselship (cropped)

Louis Cruise Lines renamed the ship ''Aquamarine'' and starting from June 2005, she was used on 7-day cruises around the Mediterranean with

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 ...

as the starting port. In April 2006, the ship was chartered for five years to

Transocean Tours Transocean Tours was a German cruise line that operated ocean-going cruise ships in the German and British markets and river cruise ships in Germany. The company was formed in 1954 and first began operating cruises in 1972, using ships chartered ...

who renamed her ''Arielle''. However, the charter was apparently terminated by early 2008, when the ship returned to Louis fleet and reverted to the name ''Aquamarine''. MS Arielle Kiel2007

In May 2008, ''Aquamarine'' was diverted to Milos, an island in the Aegean Sea, after a 1.5-meter gash was found on its hull at about 1.5 m above the water line. The ship's hull was damaged after it scraped against a pier during its departure from the port of Iraklio, in Crete, to the resort island of Santorini. The 872 passengers and the 407 crewmembers on board were safe. In December 2010, Louis Cruises announced they would be continuing the renewal of their fleet by selling ''Aquamarine'' to Mexican operator Ocean Star Cruises, which renamed her ''Ocean Star Pacific''. In March 2011, ''Ocean Star Pacific'' was moored at Caracas Bay, on Curaçao, for maintenance. She entered service for Ocean Star Cruises on 10 April 2011. On 15 April 2011 the ''Ocean Star Pacific'' was disabled at

Huatulco Huatulco (; ''wah-TOOL-coh''), formally Bahías de Huatulco, centered on the town of La Crucecita, is a tourist development in Mexico. It is located on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca. Huatulco's tourism industry is centered on its nine ...

, Mexico, due to a fire in the engine room. She crossed the Mexican riviera after undergoing an extensive repair process in Salina Cruz, Mexico, but suffered another breakdown on 26 July 2011, in her cooling systems and air conditioning. She was planned to sail through 17 April 2012. PV Enterprises International acquired the vessel in May 2012, and received seaworthiness certification in July 2012, changing the name to ''Pacific'' in November 2012. In December 2014, the vessel, sailing under the name ''Pacific Victory'', ran aground in Sarangani Bay,

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 ...

, while en route to

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, for

ship breaking Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi P� ...

. In February 2015, ''Pacific'' arrived in Alang for decommissioning.

Sister ships

* ''Ocean Pearl'' * '' Oriental Dragon''

References

https://web.archive.org/web/20150715044432/http://www.mb.com.ph/cruise-ship-runs-aground-in-sarangani-bay/

History

Sister ships

References

External links