MS Statendam Vasco da Gama previously served as MS
Statendam from 1993 to 2015, where she served as the lead member of Holland America Line's eponymous , otherwise known as S class. She was ordered in November 1989 alongside two sister ships of her class, and was designated Hull Number 5881. During her early planning and architectural design phases, there were concerns that
Statendam and the S class would not be in compliance with specific vessel stability requirements mandated by
SOLAS 90. The hull design of
Maasdam and her sister ships are largely based on
Costa Classica, a ship operated by sister brand
Costa Cruises. These fears were alleviated, however, following
Statendams successful sea trials. In August 2013,
Statendam was alerted by the
Glacier Bay National Park ranger station that a nearby tour ship, , was stranded in the ice of
Hopkins Glacier, and unable to continue to Glacier Bay National Park. On arrival
Statendam lowered two
lifeboats to rescue approximately 105 passengers and crew. They were disembarked at Glacier Bay National Park ranger station three hours later. On 20 May 2014, Holland America Line announced that
Statendam would be transferred to
P&O Cruises Australia.
Pacific Eden , 2015 After concluding her final season with Holland America Line,
Statendam sailed to Singapore for dry dock at
Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard. From 22 October to 2 November 2015,
Statendam underwent extensive interior and exterior changes, emerging as the new
Pacific Eden. In an attempt to garner global social media recognition for the introduction of two new
flagships, P&O Cruises Australia broadcast the ships' christening ceremony on
Twitter and through their godmothers' social media accounts. On 25 November 2015,
Pacific Eden and her sister,
Pacific Aria, were renamed at a ceremony held in
Port Jackson, Sydney.
Kate Ritchie served as the godmother for
Pacific Eden.
Vasco da Gama In March 2018
Pacific Eden was sold to
Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), with delivery in March 2019. 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. 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. On 9 June 2019 she was christened in
Bremerhaven by German singer
Annett Louisan, entering service with CMV's
Transocean Tours. The ship's deployment was to spend the European summer with Transocean before repositioning to Australia for the southern summer under the CMV brand. 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. All CMV's operations were suspended, and
Vasco da Gama subsequently sailed without passengers to Tilbury, arriving on 30 April. 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. The crew member had been working as a storekeeper in the ship's supply area. 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. ==See also==