MV Maestro
Ex Blue Monarch, Grand Victoria, World Renaissance, Homeric Renaissance, Renaissance
© Marc Piché (Vancouver 1977)
Steel twin screw motor vessel, built in 1966 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St.Nazaire, France (Yard No. D23), for Cie. Française de Navigation, Marseille, France as a passenger and cruise liner.
Technical Data
- Length: 150.09 m (overall) 132.42 m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth: 21.06 m
- Depth: 11,41 m
- Draught: 6.201 m
- Tonnage: 11724 – 8665 gross/6106 – 4160 net/2931 t deadweight
- Engines: 2 x Oil 2SA 6-cylinder B & W diesels
- Power: 10062 kW/13679 bHP
- Speed: 18.5 knots
- Passenger Decks: 8
- Capacity: 416 – 516 passengers
- Call Sign: FNPF, SYXQ, CQPZ, 99LY2227
- IMO Number: 6604834
- Official Number: 6641
- Port of Registry: Marseille/France 🇫🇷, Panama 🇵🇦, Piraeus/Greece 🇬🇷, Madeira/Portugal 🇵🇹, Sierra Leone 🇸🇱
History
December 11th 1965: Launched.
May 10th 1966: Delivered to Française de Navigation, Marseille, France. Marseille – Haifa service, cruising.
© Fotoflite (01/06/1969)
1970: Sold to Nouvelle Cie. de Paquebots, Marseille, France, cruising in the USA.
© Peter Longhurst (Malta, 1970) (Left) © Wolgang Fricke (Piraeus, 01/10/1972)(Right)
October 28th 1977: Sold to Epirotiki Lines, Piraeus, Greece and renamed HOMERIC RENAISSANCE. Chartered to Costa.
1978: Renamed WORLD RENAISSANCE.
© Courtesy of Chris Howell
November 25th 1983 – April 1984: Chartered to TFC Tours for a service between Plymouth, Cape Verde, St. Helena, Cape Town, Durban.
1984: Registered Owner; Hellenic Company Overseas Cruise Vessels S.A. Registered Manager: Epirotiki Lines.
© Tony Garner (Santa Cruz, 08/03/1988)
© Ken Larwood
© Mike Jackson (Dover, July 1993)
July 1995: Sold to Awani Modern Group, Djakarta, Indonesia and renamed AWANI DREAM.
March 1998: Sold to Royal Olympic Cruises, Piraeus, Greece and renamed WORLD RENAISSANCE.
© Ken Larwood (Left) © Pieter Inpyn (Rhodes, 01/04/2001)(Right)
August 2004: Advertised for sale by Marine Transportation Consultants; “Owners asking $15 million. Presently trading Mediterranean”
April 6th 2005: Sold at auction to Elysian Cruise Lines, Panama.
May 2005: Renamed GRAND VICTORIA.
© Gerolf Drebes (Istanbul, 10/06/2006)
© Aleksi Lindström (Rendsberg, 27/07/2006)
2007: Chartered to Monarch Classic Cruises and renamed BLUE MONARCH.
2007: Cruising from Piraeus.
© Simonwp (Ancona, 01/10/2007)
2009: Laid up in Perama.
January 2010: Sold to Indian breakers $1.8 million USD after a plan to use the former as an hotel ship at Vancouver for the Winter Olympics fell through.
April 2010: Renamed MAESTRO.
August 6th 2010: Arrived Alang, India for scrapping.
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: DDGHANSA, Gerolf Drebes, Fotoflite, Wolfgang Fricke, Tony Garner, Pieter Inpyn, Mike Jackson, Ken Larwood, Aleksi Lindström , Peter Longhurst Marc Piché and Simonwp for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)