''Orient Queen'' was a former cruise ship built in 1989 for the company Mar Lines by the shipyard in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain. On 4 August 2020, the ship was badly damaged by an explosion in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon, near where she was berthed, and subsequently

capsized Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fr ...

History

Originally named ''Vistamar'', the ship was operated under charter by German-based cruise companies, first Jahn Reisen then Plantours & Partner. The ship was operated in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, but also undertook voyages to the Arctic and the Antarctic, to Greenland and up the Amazon River. In 2003 it sailed through the Amazon River to

Iquitos Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province, Peru, Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the List of cities in Peru, ninth-most populous city in Peru ...

, Peru, around from the coast of Atlantic Ocean, becoming the first large cruise ship to do so. In 2001, ''Vistamar'' struck a submerged object in the South Atlantic; in 2003, it struck submerged rocks near

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

(the ship's then

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

) soon after departing on a 12-day cruise, and required repair in drydock. The ship was towed back by tugs and the passengers disembarked. In the 21st century, its ownership changed many times but it continued to be mainly operated by Plantours. In 2012, it was renamed and acquired by the Lebanon-based Abou Merhi Group. The vessel's home port was

and it typically operated in the eastern Mediterranean, calling at ports in Greece and Turkey. There was accommodation for 370 guests.

2020 Beirut explosion

''Orient Queen'' arrived in Beirut on 27 June 2020 following a 22-day voyage from King Abdullah Port in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. On 4 August, the vessel was severely damaged by an ammonium nitrate explosion while moored at its berth. The ship was left listing to starboard. Two crew, both Filipino nationals, were killed and several people injured. A crewmember, interviewed after the explosion, stated "The ship is totally destroyed – the cabins, the saloon, everything". The ship

that night after its list worsened, then partially sank. Several other ships were damaged in the same incident. On 7 August, the first lawsuit related to the explosions was filed by Abou Merhi, whose offices were also destroyed. In July of 2022, the ship underwent the process of being broken up on-site.Satellite photo from Google Earth
28 July 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2024 As of May 2024, the process of breaking up the ship was still ongoing.

References

External links

* {{2020 shipwrecks Cruise ships of the Bahamas 1989 ships Maritime incidents in 2020 2020 Beirut explosion