MV Glory Sea
ex Celestyal Odyssey, Explorer, Olympia Explorer, Olympic Explorer
© Gena Amfimov
Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 2002 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Germany (Yard No 962) for Royal Olympic Cruises, Piraeus, Greece
Technical Data
- Length: 180.40m (overall), 161.55m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth of hull: 25.50m
- Depth: 12.7m
- Draught: 7.30m
- Tonnage: 24,318 gross/2,500 deadweight
- Engines: Four Wartsila 9L46C diesels
- Power/Propellers: 37,800 kW/2
- Speed: 28.0 knots
- Capacity: 800 passengers, 927, 836
- Crew: 360
- Passenger Decks: 7
- Call Sign: C6TN4, C6CI6
- IMO Number: 9183518
- MMSI Number: 311000482
- Registry: Greece, Bahamas, Valletta/Malta
- Sister Ships: Olympic Voyager
History
May 19th 2000: Launched as OLYMPIC EXPLORER.
March 9th 2001: Sea trials.
April 2001: Renamed OLYMPIA EXPLORER. (In Gibraltar,registered under the Greek flag).
April 24th 2001: “Shakedown” cruise for employees of Blohm & Voss.
April 27th 2001: Owners refused to take delivery until certain technical problems were resolved.
April 25th 2002: Delivered to Royal Olympic Cruises, Piraeus, Greece.
2002: Owners changed name to Royal Olympia Cruises.
🆕© Frank Heine (Bari, 22/07/2002)
🆕© Frank Heine (Piraeus, 18/07/2003)
June 28th 2004: Sold to Stella Maritime, Nassau, Bahamas (Management Institute for Shipboard Education, Pittsburgh, USA). Renamed EXPLORER.
December 2007: Sold to Explorer Maritime LLC, Monte Carlo, Monaco. Sailing under Bahamian flag, home port Nassau.
🆕© Frank Heine (Copenhagen, 10/06/2013)
© Aleksi Lindström (Hamburg, 12/06/2013)(All)
May 5th 2015: Chartered to Celestyal Cruises and renamed CELESTYAL ODYSSEY.
© Dennis Mortimer
May 18th 2015: Arrived in Piraeus.
October 28th 2015: Sold to Diamond Cruise International, Athens, Greece.
December 2015: Arrived in Shanghai and underwent a refit at Huarun Dadong Shipyard
March 1st 2016: Renamed GLORY SEA and last known to be sailing short cruises to Japan and South Korea. Registered manager; Shanghai Xinhong Shipping.
We would like to thank: Gena Amfimov, Frank Heine, Aleksi Lindström and Dennis Mortimer for their assistance in producing this feature. All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for errors and omissions.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
