AIDAperla

AIDAperla is a cruise ship in the fleet of AIDA Cruises, the German cruise brand associated with Carnival Corporation & plc. Built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding at its Nagasaki shipyard in Japan, the vessel was delivered in May 2017 and formally named the following month. German fashion model and television presenter Lena Gercke served as the ship’s godmother at the naming ceremony. The ship belongs to the large contemporary cruise-vessel segment. It measures 300 metres in overall length, has a moulded beam of 37 metres and a maximum draft of 8.25 metres. Its reported gross tonnage is 125,572, with deadweight of approximately 9,200 tonnes. AIDAperla contains 1,643 passenger cabins and is configured to accommodate 3,286 guests at double occupancy. Sixteen of its eighteen decks are passenger decks. AIDAperla’s propulsion and power-generation plant combines multiple Caterpillar diesel units. Its main machinery includes three Caterpillar 12VM43C engines, each rated at 12,670 horsepower, together with a dual-fuel Caterpillar 12VM46DF engine rated at 11,650 horsepower and a Caterpillar 3516B generator rated at 3,020 horsepower. The ship has a reported service speed of 22.5 knots. As an AIDA Cruises vessel, AIDAperla is positioned for leisure cruising rather than as a standalone consumer brand. Its identity is tied to AIDA’s informal, resort-oriented approach to cruising, which emphasizes onboard entertainment, dining, recreation and itineraries marketed primarily to German-speaking and wider European travelers. The ship is designed for international cruise operations and can serve routes connecting European ports, including Mediterranean and Northern European destinations, subject to seasonal deployment. The vessel also received public attention after a crew member was reported missing overboard near Ramsgate on 22 October 2023 while the ship was traveling from Hamburg toward La Coruña. AIDAperla returned toward the area and participated in a search supported by HM Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. After approximately nine hours, the search was discontinued without the person being found. This incident is recorded as an operational maritime incident rather than a product recall or corporate scandal.

AIDAperla was constructed for AIDA Cruises by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding at the company’s shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan. The vessel was part of the expansion of AIDA’s large-ship fleet during the 2010s, when the cruise company introduced ships designed to carry several thousand guests while providing a broad range of hotel, dining, entertainment and recreational services onboard. The ship was delivered in May 2017. Its formal naming ceremony took place in June 2017, with German model and television presenter Lena Gercke acting as godmother. The naming associated the new vessel with AIDA Cruises’ German-market identity and its established practice of presenting cruise ships as lifestyle-oriented holiday destinations rather than simply as maritime transportation. AIDAperla is a substantial vessel measuring 300 metres long and 37 metres across at the moulded beam. It has a gross tonnage of 125,572 and includes 1,643 cabins. At double occupancy, the ship can accommodate 3,286 passengers. Sixteen of its eighteen decks are passenger decks, reflecting its design as a high-capacity resort ship. Its technical installation uses three Caterpillar 12VM43C diesel engines, an additional dual-fuel Caterpillar 12VM46DF unit and a Caterpillar 3516B generator. The reported service speed is 22.5 knots. In commercial service, AIDAperla operates as part of the AIDA Cruises fleet. Its routes and deployment are therefore determined by the cruise line’s seasonal scheduling and itinerary planning. The ship is associated with European cruising, including itineraries that may connect Northern European and Mediterranean ports. The vessel’s role is to provide a combination of transportation between ports and an onboard holiday environment, with accommodation, food and beverage services, entertainment and leisure activities forming the core guest proposition. The ship was involved in a search-and-rescue incident on 22 October 2023. While sailing from Hamburg to La Coruña, a crew member was reported missing and believed to have gone overboard off Ramsgate. HM Coastguard and the RNLI supported the response, while AIDAperla returned toward the relevant area. After a search lasting around nine hours, the operation was ended without locating the missing person. Available reference material does not identify the incident as resulting from a confirmed defect in the ship or from corporate misconduct. AIDAperla’s documented history is consequently centered on its construction, delivery, naming, technical specifications, service within the AIDA Cruises fleet and the 2023 missing-person incident. Publicly available material supplied for this dossier does not provide a fuller chronology of later refits, ownership changes, route schedules or operational retirement.

• 2023

  Search operation after crew member went missing

  [1]AIDAperlaen.wikipedia.org

  AIDAperla participated in a search after a crew member was reported missing off Ramsgate during a voyage from Hamburg to La Coruña.

• 2017

  Delivered to AIDA Cruises

  [1]AIDAperlaen.wikipedia.org

  AIDAperla was delivered in May 2017 after construction by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding at Nagasaki, Japan.

• 2017

  Formal naming ceremony

  [1]AIDAperlaen.wikipedia.org

  The ship was formally named in June 2017, with German fashion model and television host Lena Gercke serving as godmother.

A large contemporary European cruise ship positioned within AIDA Cruises’ leisure-travel fleet, combining high-capacity passenger accommodation with resort-style entertainment, dining and recreational facilities.

• Cruise ship · 2017

  AIDAperla

  A large contemporary cruise ship operated by AIDA Cruises. The vessel is 300 metres long, has a gross tonnage of 125,572 and contains 1,643 cabins. It can accommodate 3,286 passengers at double occupancy and has sixteen passenger decks within an eighteen-deck layout. Its propulsion plant uses Caterpillar diesel and dual-fuel machinery, with a reported service speed of 22.5 knots.

• 2023

  Crew member reported missing from AIDAperla near Ramsgate[1]AIDAperlaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A crew member was reported missing and believed to have gone overboard while AIDAperla was traveling from Hamburg toward La Coruña. The vessel returned toward the area and assisted a search involving HM Coastguard and the RNLI. The search was later called off after approximately nine hours.

1. 1AIDAperlaen.wikipedia.org