After Record 2022, No Cruise Ships Have Been Scrapped in 2023

After Record 2022, No Cruise Ships Have Been Scrapped in 2023

Disney Dream photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr Photos)

After reaching record levels in 2022, the number of cruise ships being sold for scrapping has come to a halt.

According to the latest edition of the Cruise Ship Secondhand Market Report by Cruise Industry News, not a single cruise ship has been sold to the breaking yards in 2023.

With data dating back to 1977, the special report includes a list of key vessels withdrawn from the global market every year.

In 2022 a total of 18 cruise ships were dismantled. Following a trend that started in the early days of the pandemic, the year set a record for recycling yards.

The number of cruise ships being sold to the breakers saw a significant uptick during the health emergency that started in 2020.

While just a single ship had been scrapped in 2019, a total of 38 were demolished over the next three years.

According to the Cruise Ship Secondhand Market Report by Cruise Industry News, the ships dismantled during the period were also newer.

The average age of the ships that were scrapped between 2020 and 2022 was 37, compared to 43 between 2017 and 2019.

Carnival Cruise Line was one of the companies that sent more ships to the scrapyards during the pandemic, with a total of six ships dismantled between 2020 and 2022.

After ceasing operations in the period, Pullmantur Cruceros, Cruise & Maritime Voyages and Star Cruises also sent a total of eight ships for recycling.

Other companies that sold vessels to the ship-breaking yards include Seajets, New Century Cruise Lines, Marella Cruises, Peace Boat Organization and Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.

Updated in September, the Cruise Ship Secondhand Market Report by Cruise Industry News also includes all the latest vessel transactions, all based on fully independent research.

The Marco Polo Is Getting Scrapped

The classic Marco Polo is heading to the scrapyard in Alang, India, according to a source familiar with the ship.

"The Marco Polo is headed for the beach," they said.

Other sources said potential charter deals included using the ship as a floating accommodation vessel and even converting it to a permanent hotel. None of the deals materialized, however.

Following the demise of Cruise & Maritime Voyages earlier this year, the classic, 1965-built vessel sold at auction for just $2,770,000.

A former ocean liner, the Marco Polo was built in 1965 as the Aleksandr Pushkin for the Leningrad/Montreal route.

After serving its original purpose until the 1970s, the vessel started to sail as a cruise ship under charter agreements.

In 1991, it was sold to Orient Lines and renamed Marco Polo. In Greece, the vessel was rebuilt as a true cruise ship, also receiving new engines.

Another Cruise Ship Sold; Albatros to Leave Phoenix Reisen

The Albatros will leave the Phoenix Reisen fleet, according to a press release, with the German tour operator citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ship will now start a new life as a hotel vessel under for the Pick Albatros Group in the Middle East, which operates a number of hotels and resorts. 

That will leave Phoenix Reisen with three year-round ships, plus a seasonal summer charter with the Deutschland. 

"And yet, despite all the anticipation, we also have to keep an eye on the profitability of our company. So it was with a heavy heart that we decided to hand over the MS Albatros from the Phoenix fleet to new hands," the company said, in a translated statement.

Having been built in 1973, the 830-guest Albatros was the oldest ship in the Phoenix Reisen fleet, originally launching as the Royal Viking Sea.

A number of ships have been sold or retired this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including 18 Carnival Corp. vessels; the entire Cruise & Maritime Voyages fleet; the entire Pullmantur fleet and numerous other vessels.  

Cruise & Maritime Voyages Fleet Scenario for Operations Pause

The Cruise & Maritime Voyages fleet is being recalled to Northern Europe for the company's voluntary pause of operations.

"All six ocean vessels will be heading back to Northern Europe," said Chris Coates, group commercial director, in an email to Cruise Industry News.

The Magellan, Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Astoria are set to stay in Tilbury.

The Marco Polo will lay over in Bristol Avonmouth and the Astor will dock in Bremerhaven.

The present plan is for a vast majority of the crew to remain onboard, Coates said.

The company plans to resumes operations on April 24.

Vessel Performance Key to Secondhand Ship Market for Carnival

Carnival Corporation has sold 28 ships since 2006, averaging around two ships per year based on demand in the market.

That number was up in 2018, with the company announcing the exit of four ships overall.

The Pacific Eden was sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages while the Pacific Jewel will head to Indian start-up Jalesh Cruises.

Holland America Line sold the Prinsendam, which will become the Amera next summer for Phoenix Reisen.

P&O Cruises UK also announced the Oriana will leave the fleet in 2019. 

“The practical reality for us is, if ship is relevant to our guests and is delivering double-digit return on invested capital ... we have to invest more in that ship over time. We'll continue with the ship in the fleet if it's relevant to the guests and his earning is key, if it's not then the ship will be gone,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO, on the company’s year-end and fourth quarter earnings call.

The secondhand cruise ship market has historically been highlighted by two to three nine- to eight-figure transactions on an annual basis, according to the Secondhand Market Report by Cruise Industry News.

“And so in terms of there being a robust secondary market, there's no question, the secondary market has opportunity not only because the IMO regulations but simply because the aging of ships that are in the secondary market," Donald added.

Donald said many operators in the secondhand market were sailing ships that are 40 to 45 years old, and those vessels will need to be replaced.

“So there should be a market for a number of the ships. But at the same time, to drive earnings and return on invested capital, if we had a need to scrap for ships in nutshell we would do that. We don't see that at this point in time. But if it came to that, we have no problems doing that,” Donald continued.

“But we're not going to hold onto an underperforming asset, because we're not able to sell it. I mean, if – we would scrap it if we had to. I don't anticipate that, but if we had to do it, we would do it.”

Mexico: Acapulco: Calls and Homeporting

Norwegian Sun in Acapulco.

Thirty calls are scheduled for the 2017-2018 season for Acapulco. That is a slight dip from last year because Holland America cancelled eight calls when Carnival Corporation did not conduct its destination site inspection, despite being invited by the port, explained Alex Casarrubias, port director. “We are confident that once Carnival, as well as Royal Caribbean, visit our destination, their ships will return,” he said. 

“Our top client is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings with Norwegian, Oceana and Regent,” Casarrubias continued. “Last year we also added the Magellan and Astor of Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

“The Magellan will homeport in Acapulco for three months, starting in February 2019.”

Acapulco was also a homeport in 2010 and 2011 and has since accommodated a number of turnarounds. This season, 90 percent of its traffic is transit calls and 10 percent turnarounds, but those percentages will change next season.

Recent turnarounds for Phoenix Reisen’s Albatros and Artania meant that passengers flew directly to Acapulco from England and Germany.

Casarrubias pointed out that nonstop airlift from Los Angeles started in December and that nonstop flights from Montreal and Toronto are starting in January.

Meanwhile, the Acapulco Cruise Committee’s priority continues to be to showcase Acapulco as a safe destination with top-notch infrastructure and services, he said. “We are in constant communication with the cruise lines and our main priority right now is to get Carnival to do its site inspection so they can confidently resume their cruise operation in our port.”

Passengers will find a “renewed” Acapulco. Grupo Autofin’s $1 billion master plan includes renovations of the Pierre Mundo Imperial and Princess Mundo Imperial resorts, as well as a number of new developments – hotels, shops, restaurants, spas, an eco-amusement park, a tennis stadium, a medical center and more, slated to be completed between now and 2022.

This year will also see the inauguration of a new terminal at the airport.

The most obvious attraction is Acapulco’s stunning landscape, according to Casarrubias, with its lush green mountains and sandy white beaches, in addition to its well-developed tourism infrastructure.

Carnival Corp: On Track to Slowly Remove Older Ships

Adona (Fathom) is set to join Azamara Cruise.

Carnival Corporation remains on pace to remove one to two older, less efficient ships from its fleet on an annual basis following two recent transactions. 

Carnival announced earlier in the week the P&O Adonia has been sold to Azamara for a March 2018 delivery. The Adonia joins the neoClassica, which will leave the Costa fleet around the same time.

Newer ships are not only generally larger, but burn less fuel and generate higher ticket pricing and onboard revenue. 

The 2001-built Adonia is one of the smallest ships in the Carnival fleet, at 684 passengers. The neoClassica is also on the smaller side, with capacity for 1,308 passengers, having been built in 1991.

The sales are part of the company’s broader corporate strategy to remove older, less efficient ships, while moderating capacity growth in line with demand, according to executives. 

“We remain on track with our strategically enhancement program as we continue to deliver more efficient vessels, while replacing less efficient ones over time,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, on the company’s third quarter earnings call.

Last year followed a similar beat as the 1988-built Pacific Pearl left the P&O Australia fleet for a new home with Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Her capacity was replaced by the much newer 1997-built Dawn Princess, which was transferred to P&O Australia and renamed the Pacific Explorer.

“As demonstrated by our April sale of Pacific Pearl, as well as our recently announced sale of Costa neoClassica, expected to leave the fleet next April, and our P&O Adonia, expected to leave the fleet next March. We remain on pace with our historical average of removing one to two ships per year,” Donald added.

In 2014, the company moved a number of ships off its books as the Voyager, which was operating for Costa was sold to Bohai Ferry.The Celebration went to Bahamas Paradise after her stint with Iberocruceros. The Grand Holiday, another Ibero ship, was sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages, and finally, the Ocean Princess was sold to Oceania, a deal in which Carnival even provided financing.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages adds new vessel to fleet

The 600-passenger ship Astor has been acquired by Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

The vessel, which was built in 1986, was refurbished four years ago and has been bought from bankrupt German owner, Premicon Hochseekreuzfahrt.

CMV, which had been chartering the 21,000 tonne vessel, is reported to be in the final negotiations of the purchase agreement.

Astor will return to Australia for its 2015-16 season, which will be its third year based at Fremantle.

The season will include an Asian cruise from Fremantle to Hong Kong with stops in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Sabah, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Astor originally joined the CMV fleet in December 2013 under a charter with ship management services provided by CMV’s majority shareholder, Global Maritime Group, which has acquired the vessel.

Astor will operate under long-term charter to CMV.

Christian Verhounig, chief executive and chairman of CMV, said: “The acquisition of the Astor is another important milestone in the strategic development of the group’s presence in the international markets.

"Astor has a fine pedigree and provides an important smaller ship premium option within our cruise portfolio,”

CMV commercial director Chris Coates said: “Astor has added 22,000 passengers to our global carryings and since her introduction has proved a firm favourite with high levels of customer satisfaction and repeat business being achieved.

“Next year we have programmed a special eight-night ex-London Tilbury round Britain cruise before Astor starts her German market season and forward booking levels are very encouraging”.

Astor arrived in Fremantle on Saturday following a 38 night re-positioning voyage from Tilbury and will continue to operate cruises under the CMV brand for the Australian market during the southern hemisphere summer season.

The ship will then reposition to Europe in April 2015 to operate a summer season of ex-Kiel and Bremerhaven sailings for the German market under the TransOcean brand.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages expands fleet

Cruise & Maritime Voyages will add the Grand Holiday cruise ship to its fleet next spring and will change the vessel’s name to Magellan.

The 29-year-old ship currently sails for Ibero Cruises, a line owned by Carnival Corp. It entered service in 1985 as the Carnival Holiday.

At 1,250 passengers, Magellan will become Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ largest ship. It will operate adults-only cruises (age 16 and over), its first being a 12-night sailing to Iceland and the Faroes from the Port of Tilbury near London on March 15.

U.K.-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages currently has two ships, the 800-passenger Marco Polo and the 600-pasenger Astor. The 550-passenger Azores also will join the fleet in 2015.

John Dennis, the cruise line’s vice president of sales and marketing, said the Magellan “will be very well suited to our U.S. and Canadian guests sailing from the U.K. throughout Northern Europe.”

“Having already sold 65% of capacity for next year, we remain confident that Magellan will help satisfy the growing demand for our product,” he said.

MS Marco Polo Runs Aground in Norway

Cruise ship MS Marco Polo has run aground with 750 passengers on board while manoeuvring to anchor near Leknes in Norway’s northern Lofoten Islands.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), a passenger shipping company headquartered in Essex, UK  informed that due to adverse wind conditions experienced by their cruise ship MS Marco Polo when approaching her berth in Leknes (Lofoten Islands), Norway, it was decided, in the interest of safety, to take anchor.

“Whilst manoeuvring and as the tide was retreating, the ship touched a mud bank and became lodged. A subsequent inspection by divers has revealed that there has been no damage to the vessel’s hull or propulsion systems,” the company said in a release on Saturday, November 1st.

According to CMV, Marco Polo has been successfully manoeuvred off the mud bank with the assistance of the evening high water tide and resumed her 14 night voyage to Norway and the Land of the Northern Lights en-route to Alta.

There has been no oil pollution arising out of the incident and none of the 763 mainly British passengers or crew have been injured.

“Passengers wishing to go ashore were transferred by tender and the local tour programme continued as scheduled,” the release added.

Chris Coates, Commercial Director of CMV commented, “The comfort and safety of our passengers is our top priority and our passengers have been kept fully updated of the situation.”