Atlantic Star (cruise ship)

Overview

*Antic (2013) *Atlantic Star: (2009–2013) *Sky Wonder: (2006–2009) *Pacific Sky: (2000–2006) *Sky Princess: (1988–2000) *FairSky: (1984–1988)

owner	Belinda Shipholding: 2013 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd: 2006–2013 Carnival Corporation & plc: 2004–2006 P&O Princess Cruises: 2000–2003 P&O: 1988–2000 Sitmar Cruises: 1984–1988
operator	Pullmantur Cruises: 2006–2010 P&O Cruises Australia: 2000–2006 Princess Cruises: 1988–2000 Sitmar Cruises: 1984–1988
registry	🇲🇹 Malta
builder	La Seyne-Sur Mer, France
laid down	16 July 1981
launched	6 November 1982
completed	12 April 1984
christened	March 1984
maiden voyage	1984
in service	1984–2013
out of service	2013
fate	Scrapped at Aliağa, Turkey in 2013

Atlantic Star (formerly FairSky, Sky Princess, Pacific Sky and Sky Wonder) was a cruise ship built in 1984. She sailed for Sitmar Cruises, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, and Pullmantur Cruises. Under ownership of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the ship had been laid up since 2010 before being handed over to STX France in 2013 as a partial payment for the construction of what is now, Harmony of the Seas.[1] She was later sold to a shipbreaker in Aliağa, Turkey, renamed Antic, and scrapped on 14 April 2013.[2]

History

FairSky was built in 1984 by Chantiers de Nord et de la Mediterranee of La Seyne-Sur Mer in France for the Italian cruise company, Sitmar Cruises

Incidents

Atlantic Star was involved in many incidents during her career. Some are listed below in chronological order.

September 2002 – Dianne Brimble, 42, of Brisbane, died after overdosing on the drug GHB. An inquest found that her drink had been spiked while on a 10-day cruise of the Pacific.[11]

November 2004 – Pacific Sky was due to begin a scheduled cruise off the Australian coast, but could not sail after a swarm of jellyfish blocked a cooling water intake. The engines had automatically shut down, leaving the vessel stuck fast at its Brisbane River berth. The shutdown also triggered the automatic dumping of vast quantities of distilled water used by the ship's boilers, and a fresh supply had to be trucked in.[12]

1 April 2005 – P&O Cruises was forced to cancel another two Pacific Sky cruises to allow extended work on the ship’s troublesome starboard gearbox. P&O Cruises said the two-month layoff would lead to the cancellation of five cruises but was confident problems would have been fixed in time for a scheduled 4 June cruise.[13]

7 March 2006 – Hundreds of passengers on a seven-night cruise were left stranded for about 30 hours after the vessel broke down in the Strait of Malacca near Singapore. About five hours after leaving Singapore, the ship experienced problems with its starboard engine and came to a halt with more than 1,300 passengers on board. The crew tried to fix the problem at sea but were unsuccessful. The ship ultimately sailed slowly to Port Kelang, Malaysia using its working starboard engine.[14]

18 January 2007 – Early in the morning, the Sky Wonder with 1,600 passengers ran aground on a sandbar in the Río de la Plata, 3 kilometres from the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina. There were no injuries other than a heart problem suffered by a 50-year-old male passenger, who was treated ashore. The ship was freed by tugboats at high tide several hours later, so she could reach her destination of Punta del Este, Uruguay.[15] She was chartered for CVC Cruises at the time. The grounding was reported to be due to a navigational error by her captain.[16]

Atlantic Star (cruise ship)

History

General characteristics

Incidents

External links

References