Vasco da Gama (ship)

Vasco da Gama is a cruise ship operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Completed in 1993, she previously sailed for Holland America Line as MS Statendam and for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Eden.

Vasco da Gama leaving Fremantle, January 2020
History
Name:
  • 1992–2015: Statendam
  • 2015–2019: Pacific Eden
  • 2019–2020: Vasco da Gama
Owner:
Operator:
Port of registry:
Ordered: 1 March 1992
Builder: Fincantieri, Italy
Cost: US$180 million
Yard number: Monfalcone shipyard 5881
Laid down: 30 July 1991
Launched: 3 April 1992
Completed: January 1993
Identification:
Status: In service
Notes: [2][3][4]
General characteristics
Class and type: S-class cruise ship
Tonnage:
Length: 219 m (718 ft 6 in)
Beam: 30.8 m (101 ft 1 in)
Height: 40 m (131 ft 3 in)
Draught: 7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Depth: 19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
Decks: 14
Deck clearance: 11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
Ice class: D (minimum)
Installed power: 2 x Sulzer 12ZAV40S, 3 x Sulzer 8ZA40S
Propulsion: 2 x ABB 12,000 kW (16,000 hp)
Speed: 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity: 1,258 passengers
Crew: 557
Notes: [2][4]

Construction and career

MS Statendam
Vasco da Gama as MS Statendam

Vasco da Gama previously served as MS Statendam from 1993 to 2015, where she served as the lead member of Holland America Line's eponymous Statendam class, otherwise known as S class. She was ordered in November 1989 alongside two sister ships of her class, and was designated Hull Number 5881.[5] Her keel was laid by Fincantieri in 1991. From 1991 to 1993, the ship was completed and underwent sea trials, and on 25 January 1993, Statendam embarked on her maiden voyage. Upon her maiden voyage, she became the fifth Holland America Line ship to bear the name Statendam, and during the summer of her inaugural season, she also became the first Holland America Line ship to sail a European itinerary in over twenty years.[6]

During her early planning and architectural design phases, there were concerns that Statendam and the S class would not be in compliance with specific vessel stability requirements mandated by SOLAS 90. The hull design of Maasdam and her sister ships are largely based on Costa Classica, a ship operated by sister brand Costa Cruises. These fears were alleviated, however, following Statendam's successful sea trials.[5]

In 2006, Statendam underwent dry dock renovations at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Grand Bahama.

In 2011, Statendam once again underwent dry dock renovations at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, Grand Bahama.[7]

In August 2013, Statendam was alerted by the Glacier Bay National Park ranger station that a nearby tour ship, Baran of Wind, was stranded in the ice of Hopkins Glacier, and unable to continue to Glacier Bay National Park. On arrival Statendam lowered two lifeboats to rescue approximately 105 passengers and crew. They were disembarked at Glacier Bay National Park ranger station three hours later.[8]

On 20 May 2014, Holland America Line announced that Statendam would be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia.[9]

Pacific Eden

After concluding her final season with Holland America Line, Statendam sailed to Singapore for dry dock at Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard. From 22 October to 2 November 2015, Statendam underwent extensive interior and exterior changes, emerging as the new Pacific Eden.[10] In an attempt to garner global social media recognition for the introduction of two new flagships, P&O Cruises Australia broadcast the ships' christening ceremony on Twitter and through their godmothers' social media accounts. On 25 November 2015, Pacific Eden and her sister, Pacific Aria, were renamed at a ceremony held in Port Jackson, Sydney. Kate Ritchie served as the godmother for Pacific Eden.[11]

Vasco da Gama

In March 2018, it was announced that Pacific Eden would be exiting the P&O Cruises Australia fleet. It was revealed that Pacific Eden had been sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages, and that she would depart the fleet in March 2019.[12] Following the announcement, Pacific Eden's new owner announced a naming competition for the new member of their fleet. Members of the line's Columbus Club were allowed to choose between a handful of names that honored storied explorers. The competition included names that honored Vasco da Gama, Pytheas, Henry Hudson, and Amerigo Vespucci. In April 2019, Pacific Eden officially became Vasco da Gama.[13]

The ship was christened in Bremerhaven on 9 June 2019, and promptly entered into service with Cruise & Maritime Voyage's TransOcean Tours brand.[13][14] Vasco da Gama now spends the European summer sailing for Transocean Tours before repositioning to Australia for the summer and sailing under the Cruise & Maritime Voyages brand. CMV entered administration in 2020.

COVID-19
Further information: COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships § Vasco da Gama, and COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships § Suspected suicides or suicide attempts

During COVID-19 pandemic, the ship docked in Fremantle in late March 2020. Almost 100 New Zealand passengers were flown from Perth on 29 March and arrived in Auckland on 30 March. As of 31 March, about 200 West Australian passengers were to be ferried to Rottnest Island, which had been converted to a quarantine zone. Another 600 Australians were to be taken to Perth hotels for 14 days of quarantine.[15]

On 19 May, a male Indonesian crew member fell from deck 12 of the ship while it was docked at the Port of Tilbury, London's main port, and landed on a cargo container that was placed on the dock next to the ship.[16] One source reported that he died from the fall, while another reported that he was seriously injured but there was no confirmation that he had died, and a third reported that he was being treated at a hospital.[17][16][18] The crew member worked as a storekeeper in the ship's supply area.[17] Vasco da Gama had been docked at Tilbury since 1 May, after having repatriated passengers to Australia.[16] Crew members have complained that they have not been paid and are frustrated with Cruise & Maritime Voyages.[lower-alpha 1][17][16]

Notes
  1. For example, one crew member complained that they have not been paid for work since April; that they have been locked up for two months, with neither alcohol nor cigarettes, only water and juice; and that Wi-Fi has only been available starting at midnight.[17]
gollark: Oh, is Kestrel not the .NET Kestrel?
gollark: I don't want to run .NET however?
gollark: I agree.
gollark: Minoteaur 8 (inevitable) will probably be in Rust or Nim.
gollark: I could also do fun A/B-tests on unsuspecting users more easily.

References
  1. Statendam ID 6179, Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch)
  2. "Cruise Ship Staatendam (and sister ships)" (PDF). June 1993. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  3. "Shipboard Environmental (data) Acquisition System". US NOAA. June 1993. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  4. "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Statendam". VesselTracker. 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  5. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). 24 July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. "140 Years Young: Statendam Enters Service | Holland America Blog". Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. Line, Holland America. "Holland America Line's ms Statendam Completes Signature of Excellence Upgrades". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  8. "Statendam to the Rescue". Holland America Line. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  9. "Ryndam & Statendam to Move to Sister Line P&O Cruises | Holland America Blog". Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  10. "It's time! the transformation of Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden begins". Carnival Australia. 22 October 2015.
  11. "P&O to Make History as Australian Stars Name Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden by Twitter". Carnival Corporation & plc. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  12. Mathisen, Monty (7 March 2018). "Pacific Eden Sold to Cruise and Maritime Voyages". Cruise Industry News. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  13. "Cmvs New Ship To Be Re Named Vasco Da Gama | CMV Australia". cmvaustralia.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  14. Erdmann, Frederik (22 October 2018). "TransOcean sets Bremerhamen naming for Vasco de Gama". Seatrade Cruise News.
  15. "Coronavirus patients from Artania cruise ship sent to Joondalup hospital after 29 new COVID-19 positive tests". ABC News (Australia). 30 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  16. "Crew Member Seriously Injured After falling From Vasco da Gama". Cruise Law News. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  17. "Indonesian Crew Member Goes Overboard From CMV Cruise Ship". crew-center.com. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  18. "Crew member in hospital after falling from cruise ship moored up at Port of Tilbury". Thurrock Nub News. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.