Cruise ShipsPast and PresentPullmanturRenaissance Cruises

MV Azamara Quest – Past and Present

IMO Number: 9210218

MV Azamara Quest

Ex Blue Moon, Delphin Renaissance, R7

© Simonwp

© Simonwp (Terneuzen, 01/05/2001)

Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 2000 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France (Yard No Y31) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Renaissance Cruises, Monrovia, Liberia.

Technical Data

  • Cost: $150 million
    Length: 181.00m (overall), 157.85m (between perpendiculars)
    Breadth of hull: 25.46m (extreme)
    Depth: 18.4 m
    Draught: 5.95m (maximum)
    Tonnage: 30,277 gross/11,481 net/2,000 deadweight
    Engines: Four 12-cylinder 12V32LN Wartsila diesel-electric
    Power/Propellers: 18,600kW/2
    Speed: 18 knots
    Passenger decks: 9
    Capacity: 702/670 passengers
    Crew: 376
    Call Sign: V7DM6, 9HOM8
    MMSI Number: 256216000
    IMO Number: 9210218
    Official Number:
    DNV id: 33494
    Registry: Monrovia/Libera 🇱🇷, Majuro/Marshall Island 🇲🇭, Valletta/Malta 🇲🇹
    Sister Ships: R1 (H31), R2 (I31), R3 (N31), R4 (O31), R5 (P31), R6 (Q31) and R8 (Z31)

Current AIS Location


Please note that this specific vessels AIS position data may be over an hour old and that the vessels position will only be displayed when it is within range of the VesselFinder AIS system. The AIS transponder/ship position data featured on this page is intended for information purposes only and it is in no way related to the 'Safety of Navigation at Sea'. All the AIS ship position data featured within this article is provided by VesselFinder and we are therefore not responsible for its content or its accuracy.


History

The seventh of a series of eight “R Class” built between 1998 and 2001. They were all built at the shipyard of Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire France and were designed, internally and externally, by British Designer John McNeece

May 23rd 2000: Launched.

September 28th 2000: Delivered to Renaissance Cruises, Monrovia, Liberia and commenced cruising.

© John White

© John White (Dover, 2001)

© Aleksi Lindström © Aleksi Lindström

© Aleksi Lindström (Helsinki, June 2001)

September 25th 2001: Renaissance Cruises went bankrupt and ceased operations.

September 2001: Arrested in Tilbury.

December 2001: Sold to Cruiseinvest Eight SA, Majuro, Marshall-Islands and laid up in Marseille.

© Frank Heine

© Frank Heine (R6 & R7 Marseille, 01/08/2002)

May 2003: Chartered to Delphin Seereisen and renamed DELPHIN RENAISSANCE.

© Simonwp

© Simonwp (Kiel, 01/08/2003)

© Simonwp

© Simonwp (Kiel, 01/08/2004)

© Gerolf Drebes © Gerolf Drebes

© Gerolf Drebes (River Elbe, 20/05/2006)

2006: Sold to Pullmantur, Spain. 

May 24th 2006: Renamed BLUE MOON.

May 25th 2006: Refit at Oresundsvarvet, Landskrona.

June 2006: Commenced cruising.

© Cees Bustraan © Cees Bustraan © Cees Bustraan

© Cees Bustraan (Willemstad, 30/10/2006)

November 26th 2007: Registered to Azamara Quest In, Valletta, Malta and renamed AZAMARA QUEST.

© Dennis Mortimer © Dennis Mortimer © Dennis Mortimer

© Dennis Mortimer (Piraeus, 01/05/2009)

March 30th 2012: Suffered a fire in the engine room during a cruise in the Pacific Ocean off the Philippines. Quickly extinguished by crew but, lost all power.

March 31st 2012: Got two of the engines running and headed for Sandakan where she was taken out of service for repairs.

January 2016: Picton (New Zealand) – bound struck Wheki Rock after entering Tory Channel with a Port Marlborough pilot on board.

“Investigators found that the bridge team had a misunderstanding of the plan for the vessel to make the turn into Tory Channel because the details of how the turn would be made and the influence the tide would have on the ship during the turn had not been clearly communicated. The Master and Pilot exchanged information and discussed the passage plan through Tory Channel to Picton. Due to the master and pilot having a miscommunication, the turn was initiated late and the ship never achieved a sufficient rate of turn to avoid contacting the Wheki Rock close to the northern shoreline. The vessel struck the rock, causing minor damage to the hull and damage to one propeller.”.

© Cees Bustraan © Cees Bustraan

© Cees Bustraan (Willemstad, 15/12/2016)

March 20th 2021: Sold to SP Cruise Vessel AQ Ltd, Miami, USA.

© Marcel and Ruud Coster © Marcel and Ruud Coster

© Marcel and Ruud Coster (Ijmuiden, 26/06/2022 & 10/07/2022)

All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Cess Bustraan, Marcel and Ruud Coster, Gerolf Drebes, Frank Heine, Aleksi Lindström, Dennis Mortimer, Simonwp and John White for their assistance in producing this feature.

Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)

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