Orient Lines

Orient Lines was a cruise line specialising in exotic destinations that was in operation 1993–2008. The brand was founded in 1993 by Gerry Herrod, and was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1998. It ceased operations in March 2008 and was sold to new owners in June 2008. Operations were planned to be restarted in April 2009; however, due to the Great Recession of 2008, the re-launch of the Orient Lines brand was put on hold.

For the company sometimes referred to as "Orient Line", see Orient Steam Navigation Company.
Orient Lines
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryCruise line
Founded1991 (1991)
FounderGerry Herrod
Defunct2008 (2008)
Key people
Wayne Heller
ParentNorwegian Cruise Line (1998–2000)
Star Cruises (2000–2008)
Origin Cruise Group (2008—present)

History

The history of Orient Lines began in 1991 when Shipping & General Ltd, owned by Gerry Herrod, acquired the cruise ship Alexandr Pushkin from Far Eastern Shipping Company.[1] During the next two and a half years the Alexandr Pushkin was almost entirely rebuilt and emerged in 1993 as the Marco Polo for the new Orient Lines brand, embarking on a varied program with cruises all around the world.[1][2][3]

In 1998, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) acquired the brand.[4] In 1999, NCL itself was acquired by Star Cruises.[5] Following this, NCL's Norwegian Crown joined the Orient Lines fleet in May 2000 under the name Crown Odyssey.[6] In March 2001 Star Cruises announced that their SuperStar Aries would be joining the Orient Lines fleet in mid-2002 as the Ocean Voyager. This plan was shelved however,[3] and in 2003, the Crown Odyssey returned to the NCL fleet and Orient Lines reverted to operating with just one ship.[3][6]

On 4 June 2007, the Marco Polo was sold to the Greece-based Global Maritime, with a delivery date on 31 March 2008. Without its only ship sold and no other ships to replace it, the Orient Line brand ceased to operate.[7][8]

On 27 June 2008, Star Cruises sold the Orient Line brand to Origin Cruise Group, owned by Wayne Heller.[9] The new owners stated they would be restarting operations with several second-hand ships with a capacity of 600 to 800 passengers.[9] The first ship acquired by the "new" Orient Lines was SS Maxim Gorkiy, which was purchased from Sovcomflot on 20 August 2008.[10] The Maxim Gorkiy was due to enter service with Orient Lines in April 2009 as SS Marco Polo II. On 19 November 2008 Wayne Heller stated that due to the Great Recession of 2008, the relaunch of the Orient Lines brand was delayed indefinitely.[11] The Maxim Gorkiy never was refitted and renamed Marco Polo II. The ship was sold for scrap in January 2009.[12]

Former Ships
ShipBuiltIn service for Orient LinesTonnageStatus as of 2012Image
Marco Polo19651993–200822,080 GTSince 2010 sailing for Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
Crown Odyssey19882000–200334,242 GTSince 2008 sailing as Balmoral for Fred. Olsen Cruise Line.
Marco Polo II Never Officially Named1969Never entered service (Planned to enter service on 15 April 2009).[11]24,981 GRTScrapped in Alang, India.
Ocean Voyager Never Officially Named1981Never entered service (Planned to enter service in 2002).37,049 GRTSince 2011 sailing as Saga Sapphire for Saga Cruises.

References
  1. "Ship Profile: MV Marco Polo". Cruisepage.com. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  2. Carson, Jay. "Marco Polo: History". Sealetter Cruise Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  3. Boyle, Ian. "Orient Lines (1992–2008)". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  4. Ward, Douglas (2006). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006. Berlitz. p. 384. ISBN 981-246-739-4.
  5. Asklander, Micke. "Kloster Cruise / Norwegian Cruise Line". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  6. Asklander, Micke. "M/S Crown Odyssey (1988)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  7. Newman, Doug (31 March 2008). "The End of Orient Lines". At Sea with Doug Newman. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  8. "NCL Announces Farwell Season of Marco Polo". Orient Lines press release. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  9. "Orient Lines to reborn?". Cruise Business Online. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  10. "Orient Lines buy Maxim Gorkiy". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  11. "Orient Lines delays launch". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.