The MS ''Princess Daphne'', formerly ''Ocean Monarch'', ''Ocean Odyssey'', ''Switzerland'', ''Daphne'', ''Akrotiri Express''. was a medium-sized

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 ...

. She had originally been the refrigerated cargo ship ''Port Sydney''. Her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

was '' Princess Danae'', which was built as ''Port Melbourne''.

History

Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson built her in

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

, England as a refrigerated cargo ship for Port Line. She was launched on 29 October 1954 and completed in March 1955. Between 1972 and 1974, she was converted into a cruise ship at Chalkis Shipyard,

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, Greece. She served as a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 2005. It was announced on 14 June 2014 that the Princess Daphne had arrived in

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, Al ...

, India under the name ''Daphne'' for

scrapping Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have Waste valorization, mone ...

, following a voyage from the Cretan port of Souda, where she was laid up in September 2012. She was given back to the Patimanios brothers by the bank following the sale of the assets of Classic International Cruises' fleet in 2013. In early 2014, rumors began to circulate saying she was to return to service under the "Classic International Cruises" banner. These rumors were proven false when it was announced that she was sold to Indian scrap merchants. She was beached at Alang by 1 July 2014 and scrapping commenced soon after.Another oldie for the scrapyard ''

Ships Monthly Kelsey Media Ltd is a magazine publisher and trade fair company based in Yalding, England. Founded in 1989, it has bought and sold many publications over the years, including former Bauer Media Group magazines ''Sea Angler'', ''Car Mechanics'' ...

'' August 2014 page 12

References

External links

Professional photographs
from shipspotting.com

*{{in lang, sv}

1954 ships Cargo ships of the United Kingdom Cruise ships of Greece Cruise ships of Panama Cruise ships of Portugal Passenger ships of Liberia