MV Gem
Ex Superstar Gemini, Norwegian Dream, Dreamward
Kloster Cruises
Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1992 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire. France (Yard No C30) as a Passenger Ship.
Technical Data
- Original Cost: $ 240 million
- Length: 190 – 229.84 m (overall) 199.80 m (between perpendiculars)
Breadth: 32.1 m
Depth: 17.83 m
Draught: 6.80 – 7.0 m
Tonnage: 39172 – 50764 gross/28641 net/5589 – 6731t deadweight
Engines: Two 8-cylinder 8L40/54 and two 6-cylinder, MAN-B 6L40/54 diesels.
Power: 18480 kW/HP
Speed: 21 knots
Capacity: 1260 passenger (1992), 1748 (1998) - Passenger Deck: 10
Crew: 700
Call Sign: C6LG5, V4SD4
MMSI Number: 341492000 (Last) - IMO Number: 9008419
- Official Number: 723123
Port of Registry: Nassau/Bahamas 🇧🇸, St Kitts and Nevis 🇰🇳
Sister Ships: Windward (D30)
History
December 5th 1990: Contract date.
March 5th 1991: Keel laid.
February 24th 1992: Launched.
November 1st 1992: Delivered to Kloster Cruises, Nassau as DREAMWARD.
December 5th 1992: Christened in Port Everglades.
© Kloster Cruises
December 6th 1992: Maiden cruise to Bermuda.
Official Post Card
March – May 1998: Underwent a “chop and stretch” operation. A completely new midsection (40m) was added at Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven. The funnel was adapted so that it could be “folded” over to allow the ship to pass under the low bridges on Germany’s Kiel Canal.
Lloyd Werft
Lloyd Werft
May 12th 1998: Registered to Norwegian Cruise Line, Nassau, Bahamas and renamed NORWEGIAN DREAM.
© Nigel Thornton
August 24th 1999: Whilst en-route between Zeebrugge and Dover she collided with the Taiwanese Container-ship EVER DECENT. The collision caved in the bow of the NORWEGIAN DREAM , which had 1,700 passengers aboard. The EVER DECENT was travelling from Thames-Port on the River Medway to Zeebrugge. The NORWEGIAN DREAM was heading for Dover after a 13 day northern European cruise. The EVER DECENT was loaded with more than 3,000 containers of which 46 had hazardous cargoes. Five containers fell on to the deck of the NORWEGIAN DREAM
© Gavin Hall
© Gavin Hall
© Fotoflite
September 4th 1999 – October 4th 1999: Repaired at Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven and then continued cruising Europe, Baltic and the Mediterranean with a port of call being Dover.
© Simonwp (Kiel Canal, 01/09/2002)
© Aleksi Lindström (Kiel Canal, 10/07/2003)
November 1st 2003: Norwegian Cruise Line repositioned her at the Port of New Orleans from November 2 through March for at least three years. She would sail on seven-day cruises to Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; and Cancun, Mexico.
2004: The ownership of the Norwegian Dream was transferred to NCL’s parent company Star Cruises, in preparation for possible sale or transfer to the Star Cruises fleet.
August 12th 2005: Seattle press reported that the US Coast Guard boarded NORWEGIAN DREAM after it arrived in Elliott Bay over six hours late. Many passengers were stranded in Seattle overnight as a result with NCL putting passengers up in a downtown hotel. Apparently, a passenger telephoned the Coast Guard to report that two of the ship’s four engines were out of action. The team found two engines working and two under repair. Norwegian Cruise Line officials in Miami said that the ship has had a “minor technical issue” affecting its speed “for a number of cruises.”
© Ray Goodfellow (Dover, 23/05/2006)
December 10th 2007: Collided with a barge while leaving the port of Montevideo. The collision caused some damage above the waterline that did not appear to be serious. The collision caused several cars and five containers to fall off the barge, which closed the port for some time.outside the port of Montevideo, in Uruguay. The ship had just begun a cruise in Buenos Aires the day before.
The collision resulted in the closure of the port as five containers and three cars were from the barge in shallow water. The Navy had to clear the containers from the bottom. The NORWEGIAN DREAM returned to the port for two days of repair to the ship’s bow and its forward ballast tank. CELEBRITY INFINITY was also trapped for 24 hours in Montevideo as were several cargo ships.
© Mikael Söderholm
April 23rd 2008: Star Cruises entered an agreement to sell the Norwegian Dream, as well as her fleet-mate NORWEGIAN MAJESTY to Louis Cruises, but by September 29th 2008, when the ship should have been delivered to Louis, they cancelled the deal due to “technical issues relating to the vessel.
November 2008: Laid up in Freeport, Bahamas awaiting a buyer.
December 15th 2008: Registered Owner: Ocean Dream Limited.
October 2009: Laid up at Neorion yard, Syros, Greece.
March 2011: Left Neorion yard for Piraeus.
April 2011: Left Piraeus for Singapore.
May 2011: Laid up, at anchor, off Singapore
June 2011: Star Cruises confirmed that the vessel was in Singapore for a technical dry-dock.
May 2012: Seen , at anchor, in Penang Harbour (Malaysia)
September 10th 2012: Star Cruises announced that it would refurbish the vessel and renamed her SUPERSTAR GEMINI.
© Gerolf Drebes (Shanghai, 09/06/2013)
© John Wilson (Singapore. 22/08/2014)
September 27th 2018: Star Cruises made her home port in Port Klang, Penang and Langkawi from November 2018 to April 2019. Sailed a series of three- and four-night roundtrips from the three Malaysian ports, as well as from Phuket in Thailand.
May 4th 2020: Together with SUPERSTAR AQUARIUS, started moving migrant workers, who have recovered from the coronavirus, as part of efforts to reduce the spread of the disease within the workers’ dormitories.
April 17th 2021: Detained approximately 14.5 nautical miles north-east of Tanjung Siang in Johore Bahru, Malaysia. The Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency in Johor detained the vessel for illegally anchoring in Malaysian waters. The Master and one of the crew members were taken to Tanjung Sedili Maritime Zone Office for investigations.
January 2022: Collapse of Star Cruises’ parent company, Genting Hong Kong.
May 29th 2022: Renamed GEM and left Penang for India.
June 2022: Laid up in Hambantota Port, Si Lanka “Awaiting Orders”
Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka
November 26th 2022: Arrived at 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: Gerolf Drebes, Fotoflite, Lindström, Simonwp, Mikael Söderholm and John Wilson for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
