At least two of the former Pullmantur Cruises ships have arrived at a Turkish shipbreaking yard, while the third, ‘Horizon’ was also believed to be have been committed to Turkish breakers.
The ‘Sovereign’ built in 1988 and the 1991-built ’Monarch’, were both pioneers in the history of modern cruising.
‘Sovereign’ was originally Royal Caribbean International’s ’Sovereign of the Seas’. Of 74,000 gt, at the time, she was not only the largest purpose-built cruise ship yet built but also the first mega cruise ship.
‘Sovereign of the Seas’ was transferred from Royal Caribbean to Pullmantur Cruises in 2008, which Royal Caribbean developed to focus on the Spanish-speaking market.
‘Monarch’ anchored in Aliaga Bay, Turkey on 14th July, while ’Sovereign’ idled briefly off Malta awaiting orders before also sailing east and arriving off Turkey before both were beached side by side.
‘Monarch’ was said by broking sources to have fetched $150 per light displacement tonne (LDT).
It was also believed that at least two Carnival Cruise Line vessels had been earmarked for recycling – the ‘Carnival Inspiration’ and ‘Carnival Fantasy’ – while the fate of the veteran CMV operated vessels hangs in the balance following the operator going into administration.
Carnival had earlier committed the ‘Costa Victoria’ to Italian recyclers.
