MS Finlandia (1966)

MS ''Golden Princess'' was a casino cruise ship owned by Eurasia International, operated on short casino cruises out of Hong Kong. She was built in 1967 by the Wärtsilä Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland as ''Finlandia'' for the Finland Steamship Company. In 1975 she was sold to Finnlines, who converted her into the cruise ship ''Finnstar'' in 1978. In 1982 she entered service for Pearl Cruises as ''Pearl of Scandinavia''. In 1988 she was renamed ''Ocean Pearl''. In 1994 she entered service with Croisières Paquet as ''Pearl''. Between 1995 and 1998 she sailed for Costa Cruises as ''Costa Playa''. In 1998-1999 she sailed as ''Oriental Pearl'' for Mega Wave International, and in 1999-2000 as ''Joy Wave'' for Costa Cruises. In 2000 she was sold to Eurasia International and entered service under the name ''Golden Princess'' . In 2009 she was sold for scrap to China.

Concept and construction

During the early 1960s Finland Steamship Company's service between Finland, Denmark and West Germany was operated by ageing steamers with no car decks, the newest of which had been built in 1927. Finnlines had started competing with Finland SS Co on the service to West Germany in 1962 with the car/passenger ferry ''Hansa Express''. Two notably larger ferries— ''Finnhansa'' and ''Finnpartner''—were under construction, due to enter service on the service with Finnlines in 1966. In order to compete with Finnlines' state-of-the-art ferries, Finland SS Co placed an order for an even larger car/passenger ferry with Wärtsilä Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland on 8 April 1965. The new ship could accommodate 1000 passengers, with berths for 647 of them. In keeping with the liner tradition the berths were divided between first and tourist class. The same shipyard was in fact building the new Finnlines vessels at the time Finland SS Co placed their order.

The concept of the new Finland SS Co vessel, eventually to be named ''Finlandia'', was essentially the same as that of ''Ilmatar'', built by the Wärtsilä shipyard for Finland SS Co in 1964. A notable exception was that the new ''Finlandia'' would be built with a full-length car-deck that could be accessed from gates both in the stern and bow, whereas the ''Ilmatar'' had a smaller, side-loadable car deck. The ''Finlandia''s large size meant she could replace all three steamers operated by Finland SS Co on the service to West Germany.

The ''Finlandia'' was launched on 25 August 1966 and named on the same date by Mrs. Louise Ehrnrooth, wife of Finnish banker Göran Ehrnrooth. She was completed on 10 May 1967, and delivered to Finland Steamship Company on the same date on a cruise outside the Harmaja lighthouse in Helsinki. Finnish president Urho Kekkonen and his wife were invited guests on board the delivery cruise, which was made in heavy fog.

Rebuildings

The ship that started her career as the ''Finlandia'' has been rebuilt many times. The first notable refitting took place in February–March 1974, when the ''Finlandia'' was fitted with retractable fin stabilisers.

Between 5 September 1978 and 3 January 1979 the ''Finlandia'' was heavily rebuilt at the Wärtsilä Turku shipyard. To facilitate dual use as a ferry on the Baltic during the summer high season and cruising during the remainder of the year, her interiors and accommodations were upgraded to cruise ship standards, with new cabins were installed on the upper level of the car deck, while the lower level of the car deck was retained so that she could continue transporting passenger cars. At the same time the bow gate was sealed, so that cars could only be loaded and unloaded from the stern. Following the reconstruction she could accommodate 576 all-berth passengers. Externally the midship dummy funnel was removed and the exhaust pipes in the rear redesigned. Coinciding with the reconstruction she was renamed ''Finnstar''.Karonen, pp. 106-109.

Following sale to Loke Shipping, the ship was radically rebuilt into a full-time cruise ship at Aalborg Vaerft in Ã…lborg, Denmark between August 1981 and April 1982. The lower car deck was built in with cabins, and new penthouse suites were added on the top deck. The existing cabins were enlarged, so that the ship could accommodate just 515 passengers. With the elimination of the car deck the stern doors were sealed, a bulbous bow replaced the original icebreaker bow, and sponsons were fitted aft to increase stability. Following this reconstruction the ship was renamed ''Pearl of Scandinavia''.

Between 5 January and 14 February 1988 the ship was again rebuilt, this time at the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore. During the refit a new sharply raked bow was fitted, increasing the ship's length by and the exhaust pipes replaced by a new aluminium funnel. After this rebuilding the ship was renamed ''Ocean Pearl'' by HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand.

Service history

1967–1975: Finland Steamship Company

The new ''Finlandia'' entered service on Finland Steamship Company's service connecting Helsinki, Finland to Travemünde, West Germany via Copenhagen, Denmark on 25 May 1967. She was the largest car/passenger ferry in the world at the time and the fastest ferry on the Baltic Sea, capable crossing the Baltic in just 44 hours. Her facilities were notably superior to the old Finland SS Co ships she had replaced, and she gained immediate popularity. On 23 January 1968 the ''Finlandia'' collided with the West German freighter ''Brook'' in the Kustaanmiekka strait outside Helsinki. ''Finlandia'' survived the encounter without notable damage. On 27 June of the same year the ''Finlandia'' evacuated two Danish citizens from a burning motor boat outside Stevns, Denmark. In December 1968 she also became the first ship to be docked at Valmet's new 12,000 ton drydock at Katajanokka, Helsinki.

Faced with competition in the form of the ''Finlandia'', it became clear Finnlines could not operate both their ''Finnhansa'' and ''Finnpartner'' in the service to West Germany. As a result, the ''Finnpartner'' was sold to Rederi AB Svea in 1969. Following the sale Finnlines and Finland SS Co entered a joint service agreement in February 1969. Although the joint service was marketed as Itämeren-laivat (), both ships used on the service maintained the separate liveries of their respectable operators. Plans were also made for a joint subsidiary of Finland SS Co and Finnlines to operate the service to West Germany, but these were never realised.

The ''Finlandia'' enjoyed an eventful career with Finland Steamship Company until 1975. On 24 March 1970 a passenger fell ill on board and had to be carried to a hospital in Visby, Gotland by a helicopter. On 31 May 1970 she suffered an engine room fire while in the Bay of Finland. The fire was put out by the crew, but the ship was delayed by three hours. In February 1971 she had to ber docked at the Eriksbergs varv in Gothenburg, Sweden due to a metal worker's strike in Finland. On 3 April 1972 the a tanker truck capsized on the car deck during a heavy storm outside the Hiiumaa lighthouse, crushing four cars.

In 1975, faced with an economical downturn and increased fuel prices, Finland Steamship Company and Finnlines decided to reorganise their operations and extend their joint operations to cargo shipping. The primary result of this was the formation of Finncarriers as a joint cargo-carrying subsidiary. However, as a part of the agreement Finnlines took over the entire Finland-West Germany traffic and with it the ''Finlandia''. An important factor in Finland SS Co withdrawing from the passenger service to West Germany was also , a new ship due to enter service for Finnlines in 1977 that would have a high enough capacity to replace all existing passenger-carrying ships on the Finland—West Germany service.

1975–1981: Finnlines

Enso-Gutzeit, the owner of Finnlines, took over the ''Finlandia'' from Finland Steamship Company on 16 June 1975, ceding ''Finncarrier'' to Finland SS Co in exchange. Apart from being painted in Finnlines' livery, the ''Finlandia'' continued without changes—she retained her old name, her old homeport and her old route, with a call at Copenhagen in addition to Helsinki and Travemünde (Finnlines' ''Finnhansa'' in comparison called at Nynäshamn, Sweden instead of Copenhagen).

While in the port of Travemünde on 1 July 1975 a fire broke out in the ''Finlandia''s galley. Before the fire could be controlled, it spread to the radio cabin and officer's mess. The galley, radio cabin and mess were all destroyed by the fire, and the ship had to be repaired at Kiel, Germany, before she could proceed with normal service. On 13 September 1975 the ''Finlandia'' rescued seven people from the sinking German yacht ''Jan II'' south of Gedser, Denmark. Two weeks later the ''Finlandia'' rescued two East German refugees sailing in an inflatable boat, again south of Gedser.

The new ''Finnjet'' was delivered to Enso-Gutzeit in May 1977, replacing the ''Finlandia'' in the Finland-Germany service. As a result, the ''Finlandia'' was chartered to TT-Saga Line between May and August 1977 for service on the Helsingborg—Malmö—Travemünde route. In November 1977 the ''Finlandia'' returned to service with Finnlines as a freighter on the Helsinki—Copenhagen—Lübeck service for duration of eight weeks. After this she remained laid up until the summer season of 1978, when she returned to service on the Finland—Germany run.

Finnlines projected that they would need to retain the ''Finlandia'' as a second ship on the Finland—Germany run during the high season, but needed an alternate use for her during the rest of the year. The company had operated ''Finnpartner'' and ''Bore Star'' as cruise ships with limited success during the winters between 1973 and 1977. Now the decision was made to convert the ''Finlandia''s interiors into cruise ship standards, while partially retaining her car deck. Following rebuilding at Wärtsilä's Turku shipyard the ship was renamed ''Finnstar'' and re-entered service on 8 January 1979 with a cruise on the west coast of Africa. During the winter season she made cruises on the African coast for Finnlines, during the spring and autumn she cruised on the Mediterranean and Norwegian fjords under charter to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, and during the summer she was used by Finnlines as a ferry on the Helsinki—Slite—Copenhagen run, as well as on cruises from Helsinki to Leningrad, Slite and Tallinn. On 19 November 1979 she became the first Finnish-flagged cruise ship to cross the Equator.

Like Finnlines' previous attempts to enter the cruise business, the ''Finnstar'' proved to be largely unsuccessful. She was relatively small vessel, unable to cater to the expectations of the international market. Her operational costs were also notably higher than those of her main competitors. Her West African cruises were too high-class to be sold at a reasonable price on the small Finnish cruise market. An additional factor was the competition from ''Finnstar''s former fleetmate ''Ilmatar'' that was used on similar cruises aimed at the Finnish market by Silja Line. The ''Finnstar''s prospect were further worsened in 1980, when crewing costs increased following the Finnish Maritime Strike of 1980. As a result of the increasing losses generated by the ship, Finnlines decided to give up their cruise traffic in 1980. The ''Finnstar''s last cruise terminated in Barcelona on 12 September 1980. Subsequently, she sailed to Toulon, France, where she was laid up on 14 September 1980 and placed for sale.

1981–1994: Pearl Cruises

The ''Finnstar'' remained laid up at Toulon until 27 May 1981, when she was sold to Loke Shipping, a joint venture between the Norway-based I.M. Skaugen and J. Lauritzen A/S shipping companies, who planned to use the ship for cruising out of Hong Kong and Singapore. Temporarily renamed ''Innstar'', the ship sailed for Toulon to Ã…lborg where she was rebuilt into a cruise ship by Aalborg Vaerft. The ship was delivered following the reconstruction in April 1982, renamed ''Pearl of Scandinavia'' and reregistered in the Bahamas. She sailed to Hong Kong, embarking on 14-, 28- and 42-day cruises in East and Southeast Asia for Pearl Cruises of Scandinavia in June 1982.

On 1 September 1983 I.M. Skaugen withdrew from the Pearl Cruises of Scandinavia venture, leaving J. Lauritzen as the sole owner of the ''Pearl of Scandinavia''. This change of ownership had no effect on her service. In April 1987 Pearl Cruises of Scandinavia were sold to 2000 Corporation. Despite the fact the 2000 Corporation already owned another cruise line, Ocean Cruise Lines, the Pearl Cruises of Scandinavia brand was retained for the ''Pearl of Scandinavia'', although the company name was simplified to simply Pearl Cruises.

Between January and February 1988 the ''Pearl of Scandinavia'' was again rebuilt, this time at the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore. On 14 February she was renamed ''Ocean Pearl'' by HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand and subsequently re-entered service. Throughout these changes Loki Shipping remained the ship's owners. In April 1990 Ocean Cruise Lines were acquired by the France-based Croisières Paquet. Two months later Loki Shipping sold the ''Ocean Pearl'' to Sendumar. Despite these changes the ship continued in Asian cruise service for Pearl Cruises. In 1992 Croisières Paquet also acquired the ''Ocean Pearl''.

1994–1995: Croisières Paquet

In February 1994 the ''Ocean Pearl''s marketing was taken over by Croisières Paquet. She was renamed ''Pearl'' and reregistered in France, but continued cruising in the Asian market until 14 September 1995.

1995–1998: Costa Cruises

The Italy-based Costa Cruises had absorbed Croisières Paquet in 1994. As a result of this the ''Pearl'' was withdrawn from Croisières Paquet service on 14 September 1995. She then sailed to the T. Mariotti shipyard in Genoa, Italy. Following the refit the entered service with Costa Cruises as ''Costa Playa'' on 12 November 1995. At the same time she returned under the Bahamian flag. The ''Costa Playa'' was used for cruises in the Caribbean with Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, as the port of departure. She was the first cruise ship to visit Cuba since the end of the Cold War, calling at Santiago de Cuba, Havana

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