MS Sovereign

MS Sovereign (formerly Sovereign of the Seas) was one of three large cruise ships of the Sovereign class operated by Pullmantur Cruises and formerly by Royal Caribbean International. On 24th June Sovereign arrived and was beached at Aliağa, Turkey, where she is currently being scrapped.

For other ships of this name, see Sovereign of the Seas and Sovereign (ship).
MS Sovereign docked at Livorno, Italy, in 2015.
History
Name:
  • Sovereign (2008-2020)
  • Sovereign of the Seas (1988–2008)
Owner: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (1988–2020)
Operator:
Port of registry:
Builder:
Yard number: A29[1]
Laid down: June 10, 1986[2]
Launched: April 4, 1987[2]
Christened: January 15, 1988
Completed: December 18, 1987[2]
Maiden voyage:
  • January 16, 1988 as Sovereign of the Seas
  • March 23, 2009 as Sovereign
In service: January 16, 1988
Out of service: 2020
Identification:
Fate: Sold for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type: Sovereign-class cruise ship
Tonnage:
Length: 268.32 m (880 ft 4 in)[2]
Beam: 32.2 m (105 ft 8 in)[2]
Draft: 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)[2]
Installed power:
  • Four 9-cylinder Pielstick-Alsthom diesel engines
  • 21,844 kW (combined)
Propulsion:
  • Two controllable pitch propellers
  • Two bow thrusters
Speed: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Capacity: 2,850 passengers

History
Sovereign of the Seas anchored off Nassau, Bahamas during the day.

She sailed on her maiden voyage on January 16, 1988, and was initially based at the Port of Miami.

In 1998 and 1999, the Royal Caribbean International cruise company was fined US$9 million because Sovereign of the Seas had repeatedly dumped oily waste into the ocean and tried to hide this using false records, including fake piping diagrams given to the US Coast Guard. Because the company was and is incorporated in Liberia, Royal Caribbean argued that this case was not in the jurisdiction of US courts.[3]

Her refurbishment in November 2004 was the subject of the Travel Channel mini-series Dry-Dock, A Cruise Ship Reborn.[4] Throughout her time with Royal Caribbean she sailed cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean out of Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida. These cruises visited Coco Cay, one of RCI's privately owned islands, in the Berry Islands group.

In November 2008 Sovereign of the Seas was transferred to the fleet of Pullmantur Cruises, a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd subsidiary, and renamed MS Sovereign. Sovereign set sail on its first voyage with Pullmantur Cruises on March 23, 2009.[5] Similar to other ships in the same class, Sovereign has a multi-deck atrium lobby and a top-deck, funnel-mounted lounge with panoramic views of the sea. The ship's facilities include nine bars, five restaurants, four pools, a spa and a casino.[6]

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sovereign and MS Monarch were placed into "cold lay-up" and Pullmantur Cruises filed for financial reorganization.[7] According to reports, the interiors of the ships were stripped of "everything of value".[8] On 23 July 2020 she was beached in Aliağa alongside her sistership Monarch, whis was beached one day before.

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See also
  • Yucatán, a 2018 Spanish comedy film set on MS Sovereign.
  • Dil Dhadakne Do, a 2015 Indian family feature film was set on MS Sovereign.

References
  1. "sovereign".
  2. "Sovereign (G107405)". DNV GL Vessel Register. Germanischer Lloyd. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  3. "U.S. keeps wary eye on cruise ships for more pollution". USA Today. November 8, 2002. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
  4. "Royal Caribbean International - Dry-Dock, A Cruise Ship Reborn - Official Page". Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  5. "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Transfers Royal Caribbean International Ship to Pullmantur". Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  6. "SOVEREIGN Technical Data". Pullmantur. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  7. "Pullmantur Ships Move to Cold Lay-up". Cruise Industry News. New York NY. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  8. Walker, Jim (June 21, 2020). "Is Pullmantur Cruises Ending Operations?". Cruise Law News. South Miami FL: Walker & O'Neill Maritime Lawyers. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

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