Another cruise ship has been beached at the Aliaga ship breaking facility in Turkey. A sad sight that seems to be growing at the scrapyard due to the suspension of cruise operations around the world.
The MS Astor vessel that was previously operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) was beached on Monday at the scrapyard in Turkey. The vessel was recently sold for scrap for $1.7 million after going up for auction by CW Kellock London.
On November 10, Cruise Hive reported that the ship was already on her final journey towards Turkey after already being stripped of anything important. She was expected to arrive on November 26 according to the Cruise Ship Tracker but has already arrived and beached on Monday.
Video footage has been posted online the moment MS Astor was beached. Thankfully, there is still room available with so many former cruise ships currently being scrapped.
The former CMV cruise ship joins a number of other vessels that are already being scrapped. The Carnival Fantasy, Inspiration, and Imagination are all there being dismantled as the cruise line no longer had any use of them due to being hard hit by the suspension of the cruise industry.
Two other Pullmantur ships are also at the Aliaga facility, they were former Royal Caribbean ships that were named Monarch of the Seas and Sovereign of the Seas.
MS Astor entered service in 1987 for the Marlan Corporation and was constructed in Kiel, Germany. She’s had several owners of the years and the most recent was Cruise & Maritime Voyages, a UK based cruise lines that went bankrupt due to the pandemic and the suspension of operations.
Also Read: Which Cruise Ships are Being Scrapped or Sold Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Astor is 20,700 gross tons and has a guest capacity of 650 along with 300 crew members. Scrapping will soon begin and soon the ship will not be recognizable, The cutting will usually start near the bow and move towards the aft.
Photo Credit: Vytautas Kielaitis / Shutterstock.com
