The small 7,478 gt cruise ship ‘Orient Queen’, which capsized in Beirut, following the huge explosion on 4th August, was built in 1989 as the ‘Vistamar’ .
She held a number of names before becoming the ‘Orient Queen’ in 2018 and was built in Valencia by Union de Levante shipyard for Spanish company Mar Lines.
The explosion also destroyed the head office of her current operator, Abou Merhi Cruises, as well as the whole Abou Merhi Group, who acquired her in 2012.
Two crew were reported to have been killed while seven were listed as being in a critical condition.
The 370-pax vessel was based in Beirut and mainly operated in the eastern Mediterranean, calling at ports in Greece and Turkey.
