''SuperStar Libra'' 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 k ...

owned and last operated by Star Cruises. She was built in 1988 at

Wärtsilä Marine Wärtsilä Marine (; ) was a Finland, Finnish shipbuilding company. The company was created in 1987 in order to improve shipbuilding productivity by combining the Wärtsilä and Valmet yards under the same organisation. The yards were located in ...

Perno Shipyard Perno shipyard is a shipyard in Turku, southwest Finland, that specialises in building cruise ships, Ferry, passenger ferries, special vessels and offshore projects. The yard area is and is operated by Meyer Turku, Meyer Turku Oy with a dry do ...

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

as ''Seaward'' for

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is an American cruise line founded in Norway in 1966, headquartered in Miami, Florida, and incorporated in the Bahamas. It is the List of cruise lines, fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling ...

. In 1997 she was renamed ''Norwegian Sea'', remaining in NCL fleet. In 2005 she was transferred to the fleet of Star Cruises. In May 2022, the ship, renamed ''Libra'', arrived in Turkey for demolition.

History

The vessel entered operation with

(NCL) in 1988 as ''Seaward''. The vessel was renamed ''Norwegian Sea'' in 1997. In 2005, the vessel was transferred to Star Cruises, part of the

Genting Group The Genting Group is headquartered in Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Group comprises the holding company Genting Berhad (), its listed subsidiaries Genting Malaysia Berhad (), Genting Plantations Berhad (), Genting Singapore Plc () ...

, and renamed ''SuperStar Libra''. With Star Cruises, ''SuperStar Libra'' sailed a variety of cruises in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Aegean and Guatemalan seas in the summer of 2006. The vessel deployed back to Mumbai in late September 2006. ''SuperStar Libra'' has subsequently been based at various ports in Asia including Singapore, Penang, Hong Kong, Xiamen and Haiku. NorwegianSea3-23-04

Accommodation vessel

In March 2018, Star Cruises announced that ''SuperStar Libra'' would end her public cruise operations for the company in June 2018. From July 2018, ''SuperStar Libra'' was used as an accommodation ship for workers at the MV Werften shipyard of the Genting-Hong-Kong-group in

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

, Germany to support the construction of ships for Genting's Dream Cruises and

Crystal Cruises Crystal Cruises is an American cruise line owned by A&K Travel Group. It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Following insolvency in 2 ...

. She remained there under a 3-year lease. ''SuperStar Libra'' was moved to another berth in Wismar harbour in November 2021. On 4 February 2022, it was announced that the ship's operator, Star Cruises Germany GmbH, was insolvent, and she was sold to Flash Maritime Ltd, which is associated with the Greek company Hellenic Seaways. On 11 April 2022 she departed Wismar in tow for Greece, reportedly to continue as an accommodation vessel, but was resold for demolition at

Aliağa Aliağa () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 379 km2, and its population is 104,828 (2022). The town is situated at about north of İzmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its e ...

, Turkey, departing Salamis in tow on 28 May. The ship arrived in Aliağa and was beached on 1 June.

Popular culture

* The vessel appeared as ''Norwegian Sea'' in the 2003 film

2 Fast 2 Furious ''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, based on a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to '' The Fast and the Furious'' (2001) and ...

References

External links

SuperStar Libra former homepage
{{Star Cruises Ships of Star Cruises Ships built in Turku 1987 ships