World’s First “Megaship” At The End Of Its Journey As It Awaits Scrapping
Worlds’ first ‘megaship’ Sovereign and sister vessel Monarch is now beached at Aliga, Turkey, waiting to be scrapped for recycling. The two former Royal Caribbean Ships transferred to Pullmantur Cruises in 2008 and 2013, will now be picked apart, marking a heartbreaking end to the two beloved ships.
Spanish cruise operator Pullmantur took to social media to post 2 of its ships, captioning: ‘A long time of sailing full of joy, emotions, conversations, stories … a journey full of life; a great place for family reunions, vacations that thousands of passengers dream of; cozy homes for the large family of crew members: without them, our passengers’ experience would never have been the same.
‘Monarch and Sovereign, you will always be part of our company’s history.’
‘We continue to work to get back in operation as soon as possible. This is our greatest desire.’
The announcement came by the company after its silence following the filing for its re-organization by its parent companies, Cruise Investment Holding and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd due to hard-hitting impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sovereign (73,500) and Monarch (73,900), that arrived in 1988 boasted of features, amenities, and a size that was uncommon for its time. The humongous cruise ship, Sovereign had a passenger capacity of over 2800 at double occupancy while Monarch could house 2700.
Welcoming a new era of cruise vacationing that has only evolved ever since, the two glorious ships, unfortunately, fell prey to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and sailed off sans any fanfare.
Sisters until the end as @PullmanturWW #Sovereign made her final short trip to join #Monarch on the beach at #Aliaga this morning. #pullmantur #pullmanturcruises #aliaga #cruise #cruisenews #cruise pic.twitter.com/ZZW6YESJwW
— Andrew McAlpine (@CruiseshipP) July 23, 2020
The ships had previously been stipped off its essentials in Naples, Italy earlier and will now undergo its last at the Aliga ship breaking facility. The remaining crew members are to be taken on by Royal Caribbean.
Video of @PullmanturWW #Monarch being beached in #Aliaga yesterday. Her sister ship #Sovereign was beached early this morning. #pullmanturcruises #cruise #cruisenews pic.twitter.com/WfJMs1gRtq
— Andrew McAlpine (@CruiseshipP) July 23, 2020
A third ship by Pullmantur fleet, Horizon is soon to follow suit. The ship is currently being stripped of its important items off the Greek coast, to be sent to Aliaga. Video footage of the Monarch beaching for the last time its engine being used is a sad memory for those who love cruise ships and its golden history.
Reference: thepointsguy.co.uk / yahoo
Marine Insight does not own the rights of the video.
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