At 19:48hrs local time Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) took delivery of its newest ship Vasco da Gama in Singapore. Built in 1993 by Fincantieri as Statendam she was the fifth ship to bear the name for Holland America Line. In 2015 she was purchased by P&O Australia and had been sailing as Pacific Eden until her purchase by CMV.
Having been officially handed over she will now undergo a 20 day refit after which she will depart from Singapore on Wednesday, 24th April 2019 on a spectacular 46 night adventure visiting South East Asia; India Egypt; Jordan; transiting the Suez Canal; Israel; and classical highlights of the Mediterranean before arriving in London Tilbury, Amsterdam and Bremerhaven. Further details of Vasco da Gama’s maiden voyage are scheduled to be released in May.
The new ship will be deployed and dedicated to both the German and Australasian cruise markets. During the northern summer (May-October) the ship will operate under CMV’s German brand, TransOcean Kreuzfahrten with homeports of Bremerhaven and Kiel and during the Australian summer season (December-March) from Fremantle (Perth) and Adelaide, offering a more traditional scenic cruise experience.
The name was chosen after the cruise line asked valued Columbus Club members and Trade Partners to participate in her naming by choosing a name which was in keeping with the companies ‘explorer’ theme for ship names. The choices were:- Pytheas, Vasco da Gama, Henry Hudson and Amerigo Vespucci.
The delivery of Vasco da Gama now brings CMV,s fleet of cruise ships to six, other ships in the CMV fleet are Astor, Astoria, Columbus, Magellan, and Marco Polo.
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese nobleman, navigator and explorer, famous for being the first European to reach India by sea. After thousands of lives and dozens of vessels lost in shipwrecks and attacks in search of this passage, da Gama successfully landed in Calicut on 20th of May 1498. In doing so, he connected the Atlantic Ocean with the Indian Ocean and the Western World with the Orient, paving the way for an age of global commerce and European establishment in Asia. His outward and return journey around the Cape of Good Hope was at the time the longest ocean voyage ever undertaken, a distance equal to the equatorial circumference of the Earth, being about
24,000 miles! He successfully conducted three such voyages, and also served as the Second Viceroy of Portuguese India.
| Cruise Line | Cruise & Maritime Voyages |
|---|---|
| Gross Tonnage | 55,877grt |
| Registry | Bahamas, British Commonwealth |
| Classification Society | Det Norske Veritas |
| Passenger Capacity | 630 cabins (max 1220 passengers) |
| Re-built | Greece 1993 |
| Cruising Speed | 16.5 knots |
| Passenger Decks | 10 |
| Lifts | 8 |
| Electric Current | 100/220V AC |
| Stabilised & Air Conditioned | Yes |
| Officers & Crew | International |
| Cruise Staff & Entertainers | British & International |
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length | 719ft (219.4m) |
| Beam | 101ft (30.8m) |
Take a look at the CMV website for further information and itineraries:
Cruise Ship Profiles 