Vasco da Gama
In March 2018 Pacific Eden was sold to Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), with delivery in March 2019.[11][12] Following the purchase, members of CMV's Columbus Club were asked to choose between four names that honoured famous explorers: Vasco da Gama, Pytheas, Henry Hudson, and Amerigo Vespucci; Vasco da Gama was chosen.[13] After a refit in Singapore, Vasco da Gama sailed on 23 April 2019 for Tilbury on her inaugural cruise, with calls in Malaysia, Thailand, India, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, celebrating her namesake's travels.[14] On 9 June 2019 she was christened in Bremerhaven by German singer Annett Louisan, entering service with CMV's Transocean Tours.[15] The ship's deployment was to spend the European summer with Transocean before repositioning to Australia for the southern summer under the CMV brand.[13] During the COVID-19 pandemic, two CMV ships swapped passengers at sea off Phuket to allow all Europeans to return direct to Tilbury on Columbus; Australian and New Zealand passengers joined Vasco da Gama, which docked in Fremantle, Australia on 27 March 2020.[16][17] Despite no positive cases, the 197 West Australian passengers were ferried to Rottnest Island, which had been converted to a quarantine zone, to self-isolate; another 600 Australians quarantined in Perth hotels, and some 100 New Zealand passengers were flown to Auckland.[18][19] All CMV's operations were suspended, and Vasco da Gama subsequently sailed without passengers to Tilbury, arriving on 30 April.[17]
On 19 May, a male Indonesian crew member fell from deck 12 of the ship while it was docked at the Port of Tilbury, London's main port, and landed on a cargo container that had been placed on the dock next to the ship.[20] One source reported that he died from the fall, while another reported that he was seriously injured but there was no confirmation that he had died, and a third reported that he was being treated at a hospital.[21][20][22] The crew member had been working as a storekeeper in the ship's supply area.[21] Vasco da Gama had been docked at Tilbury since 1 May, after having repatriated passengers to Australia.[20] Crew members have complained that they have not been paid and are frustrated with Cruise & Maritime Voyages.[21]
Unable to trade, CMV entered administration on 20 July 2020 and in October, Mystic Invest bought the ship at auction, on behalf of Mystic Cruises, for US$10.2 million.[23][24] Since July 2021, she has sailed for Mystic Invest's German cruise brand, nicko cruises.
The ship is able to use shore power since a drydock in 2025.[25]
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