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MV Merchant Victor (Ex Emadala) – Past and Present

IMO Number: 7800112

MV Lady Roz

ex Victory RoRo, Luccello, Tiger A, Sevenhill, Kibris Gunesi, Moondance, Merchant Victor, Emadala

© Fotoflite

© Fotoflite

Steel twin screw motor vessel, built in 1978 by Rickmers Werft, GmbH, Bremerhaven, Germany (Yard No. 395) as a passenger and commercial vehicle ferry for Emadala Shipping Co. Hamilton, Bermuda

Technical Data

  • Length: 112.32m (overall), 103.41m (between perpendiculars)
  • Breadth of hull: 19.51m (extreme) 17.51m (moulded)
  • Depth: 12.22m
  • Draught: 5.217m
  • Tonnage: 1,598 gross (1978), 5,881 (ITC 69)/640 – 1,764 net /3,046 deadweight (1978)
  • Engines: Two MaK 8M452AK diesels
  • Power: 6,000 bhp/4,413 kW
  • Speed: 16.0 knots
  • Capacity: 12 passengers, cars 40, TEU 140, Containers 140/20′
  • MMSI Number: 613460104
  • Call Sign: C6HL6, 5B7037, 3FZN, D6A2780, 3COBG, TJM0066
  • IMO Number: 7800112
  • Registry: Hamilton/Bermuda 🇧🇲, Nassau/Bahamas 🇧🇸, Istanbul/Turkey 🇹🇷, Panama 🇵🇦, Moroni/Comoros 🇰🇲, Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶, Cameroon 🇨🇲
  • Sister Ships: Thomas Wehr (388), Mashala (389), Salahala (390), Gabriele Wehr (391),


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

July 19th 1978: Launched.

“Fifth in a series of five sister ships originally built by Rickmers Werft, GmbH for the charter market”

November 7th 1978: Delivered to Emadala Shipping Co. Hamilton, Bermuda.

November 1978: Bareboat chartered to Gilnavi Società di Navigazione per Azioni, Genoa, Italy. Commenced service between Genoa – Malta – Piraeus – Alexandria.

1987: Sold to Gilnavi Società di Navigazione per Azioni, Genoa, Italy.

1990: Sold to Cenargo Ltd., Nassau, Bahamas. Renamed MERCHANT VICTOR.

© Capt Jan Melchers

© Capt Jan Melchers

1990: Commenced service for Merchant Ferries between Heysham – Warrenpoint.

June 1990 – August 1990: Bareboat chartered to Schiaffino. Commenced service between Ostend – Ramsgate.

© Ted Ingham

© Ted Ingham

1991: Bareboat charter to Schiaffino. Commenced service between Ostend – Ramsgate.

© Ken Larwood  © Ken Larwood  

© Ken Larwood (all)

1992: Commenced service for Merchant Ferries between Heysham – Warrenpoint.

1993: Bareboat chartered to Crowley Caribbean. Service in the Caribbean.

October 13th 1994 – August 31st 1995: Bareboat chartered to North Sea Ferries, Rozenburg. Operated between Hull – Zeebrugge.

 © Patrick Hill

Zeebrugge 20/10/1994 © Urbain Ureel (Left) and Hull 09/12/1994 © Patrick Hill (Right)

November 1995 – June 1996: Bareboat chartered to P&O European Ferries Ltd., Felixstowe, England. Operated between Felixstowe – Zeebrugge.

© Tony Garner

© Tony Garner (Felixstowe, 27/05/1996)

July 1996: Bareboat chartered to Belfast Freight Ferries. Operated between Belfast – Heysham.

1996: At the completion of her charter she was laid-up in Liverpool.

March 15th 1997 – March 25th 1997: Bareboat chartered to Commodore Ferries. Operated between Portsmouth – Guernsey – Jersey.

April 1997: Bareboat chartered to Dart Line. Operated between Zeebrugge – Dartford.

April 1997: Bareboat chartered to Seatruck Ferries. Renamed MOONDANCE. Introduced between Heysham – Warrenpoint.

© Trevor Kidd  © Ian Collard

© Trevor Kidd (Left) and 🆕 © Ian Collard (right)

November 1998: Sold to Seatruck Ferries, Nassau, Bahamas (Manager: Crescent Marine Ltd).

April 2008: Awaiting a refit in Birkenhead.

June 29th 2008: Involved in a grounding incident at Warrenpoint after an electrical failure put the controllable pitch propellers into full astern, which was a default setting. Suffered damage to her rudders and rudder stocks.

October 16th 2008: Returned to service Heysham and Warrenpoint.

February 2nd 2009:Redeployed to the newly opened Fredericia, Denmark to Moss Norway route.

February 10th 2009: Suspension of Fredericia-Moss service. Laid up in Denmark before returning to Liverpool where she was laid up in East Huskisson dock.

2010: Purchased by Starline Maritime in Cyprus and renamed KIBRIS GUNESI.

2012: Sold to Sevenhill RoRo and renamed SEVENHILL.

2015: Laid up in Samsun, Turkey.

July 7th 2017: Sold to Awesta Shipping Corp, Antalya, Turkey and renamed TIGER A.

February 2018: In service between Samsun, Turkey and Tuapse, Russia.

September 13th 2021: Sold to Mered Ship Management Co,. Ltd, Merzin. Turkey and renamed LUCCELLO.

© Giwrgos Mertis (Piraeus, 31/12/2021)

February 26th 2022: En-route from Aqaba to Tripoli, suffered a technical failure and dropped anchor off Antalya. Repairs were commenced by the crew at the anchorage. 

March 15th 2022: Sold to and managed by Yildirim Shipping Co and reamed VICTORY RORO.

© Nektarios Papadakis

Iraklion, Greece 09/04/2022 © Nektarios Papadakis (Shipspotting.com)

July 18th 2022:

“Intercepted by frigates from Greek and Italy which were participating in the EU Navy Operation IRINI off the Libyan coast. The ship was boarded and inspected on the suspicion of illegal arms transportation to Libya. The Hellenic Navy frigate HS ‘Themistokles‘ monitored the ship during her route before the frigate of the Italian Navy ITS ‘Grecale‘ took over to conduct the inspection. The vessel was en-route from King Abdullah Port to Benghazi at that time. The inspectors found vehicles either specifically military, or converted for military use. The ship was taken to Valletta and moored on the outer anchorage on July 20. It left the anchorage in the morning of July 21 and headed towards the Strait of Sicily. The roro ferry was on the Alert list of IRINI as probable arms trader since at least March 2022 under the name ‘Luccello’ and had been under close surveillance.”

Operation IRINI

July 26th 2022: Detained in Marseille, France for 3 days with a total of 14 deficiencies, 5 of which were serious resulting in the “grounds for detention”.

August 19th 2022: Reflagged to Cameroon with AIS indicating that she had been renamed LADY ROZ.

November 2023: Known to be in service Tasuca (Turkey) – Beirut.


All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions found. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Fotoflite, Tony Garner, Patrick Hill, Ted Ingham, Trevor Kidd, Ken Larwood, Capt Jan Melchers, Urbain Ureel and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.

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

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