World Renaissance

[Atomica]

Anyone have any idea what happened to the World Renaissance, formerly of the now-defunct Royal Olympic (or Olympia, take your pick) Cruise Lines?

 

Sailed on her back in 2000 - very nice little ship. Nothing that could compete with modern cruise ships, but a very classic profile. Last I heard she was auctioned off, but I can't remember if it was to another company or to the breakers.

 

Any ideas?? Thanks!

[dougnewmanatsea]

The buyers were Ravenscroft Shipping of Miami who also bought several of the ships from the defunct Festival Cruises the year before. Most of those ships were successfully chartered out but as of now the former WORLD RENAISSANCE, renamed GRAND VICTORIA, has not found employment.

[Atomica]

Thanks for the info, Doug - hopefully the ship will be able to find a charter and continue sailing for a little while. I think if they spent some time and money, updated some of the interior spaces a little it would be quite a sucessful ship. I guess only time will tell... the new SOLAS requirements in 2010 may be the end of her...:(

[kikiwik]

just thought i'd say hello! :cool:

[Atomica]

just thought i'd say hello! :cool:

 

Hey Kim :D

[workerbees]

Thanks for the info, Doug - hopefully the ship will be able to find a charter and continue sailing for a little while. I think if they spent some time and money, updated some of the interior spaces a little it would be quite a sucessful ship. I guess only time will tell... the new SOLAS requirements in 2010 may be the end of her...:(

 

Could you please tell me what the SOLAS requirements are?

 

Thanks, I"m semi-cruise literate compared to all of you...:confused:

[Atomica]

Could you please tell me what the SOLAS requirements are?

 

Thanks, I"m semi-cruise literate compared to all of you...:confused:

 

SOLAS stands for Safety Of Life At Sea. I only know the broad strokes of what it entails, but basically it is a set of standards that all ships must adhere to by 2010. Things like using fire-resistant materials in the interiors and construction, having multiple watertight compartments, adequate sprinklers and alarms...

 

The reason it could spell the end for a lot of older ships is that many of these would be so prohibitively expensive to retro-fit that it simply isn't worth it, unless the company has already spent a ton of money on upgrades, as is the case with Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2.

 

Newer cruise ships won't be as affected - most are already built with the SOLAS requirements in mind.

[dougnewmanatsea]

SOLAS, as Atomica points out, refers to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

 

It is an international treaty which sets out safety regulations for all ships worldwide which are engaged in international trade.

 

The first SOLAS convention was adopted in 1914 as a result of the TITANIC disaster. Subsequent conventions have been adopted in 1929, 1948, 1960, and 1974. SOLAS 1974 is the currently applicable convention and entered into force in 1980. Beginning with SOLAS 1960, the conventions have been the responsibility of the International Maritime Organisation, the maritime body of the United Nations.

 

To understand the problem which will arise in 2010, one must have an understanding of previous SOLAS conventions. Major fire safety regulations were introduced with SOLAS 1948. There was a debate between the countries over two proposed methods of fire protection: the American Method and the British Method. The American Method required that the entire ship be constructed of "non-combustible" materials. The British Method did not make this requirement, but did require that the ship be fitted with automatic fire sprinklers. In the end, both Methods were adopted as legal. The American Method became Method I and the British Method became Method II. There was also a French Method, a sort of combination of the two, which became Method III.

 

The three possible Methods were retained in SOLAS 1960. In SOLAS 1974, Methods II and III were dropped, making Method I the only choice for ships built after that convention came into force in 1980. However, there was a "grandfather clause", as is common with these regulations.

 

After the SCANDINAVIAN STAR disaster in 1991, it was determined that an overhaul of the rules was required. SOLAS 1974's existing rules, based on Method I, were kept - banning "combustible" materials - but a requirement for sprinklers (like Method II) was added, along with various other new requirements. Unusually, these 1992 Amendments applied to all ships, even existing ones. They went into force on a rolling schedule. The new regulations applied to new ships beginning in 1994, as did certain regulations to existing ships. Other watersheds for existing ships included 1997, 2000, 2005, and finally, 2010, at which point all ships would have to completely comply with the fire regulations set out in SOLAS 1974 and the 1992 Amendments.

 

The problem is, many ships built to SOLAS 1948 or SOLAS 1960 - that is, before 1980 - were built to Method I or III, and so have "combustible" materials (in reality, virtually all materials are combustible, but for regulatory purposes, "non-combustible" means a matierial that passes a specific test for fire resistance) used in their construction. From 2010, this is prohibited, regardless of when the ship was built. This means that all the Method I and III vessels will either have to undergo very major and expensive refits, or be retired.

 

I'm not sure what Method GRAND VICTORIA was built to, but my guess is that, as she was originally French, she is most likely a Method III ship, as were most ships built in France through the 1970s. This means that 2010 is probably the end for her.

 

I might add that her owners have indeed found a charterer for her - this year she is being chartered by Metropolis Tour, a Russian tour operator. While their web site is entirely in Russian, it does have four pages of excellent photos of the ship here - click on the thumbnails for a larger image. If you want to try to read the rest of the site (and don't read Russian), you might want to try to translate it using Babelfish, which will probably give you garbled syntax but still at least be intelligble most of the time.

[Atomica]

I might add that her owners have indeed found a charterer for her - this year she is being chartered by Metropolis Tour, a Russian tour operator. While their web site is entirely in Russian, it does have four pages of excellent photos of the ship here - click on the thumbnails for a larger image. If you want to try to read the rest of the site (and don't read Russian), you might want to try to translate it using Babelfish, which will probably give you garbled syntax but still at least be intelligble most of the time.

 

Very interesting - thanks Doug!

 

The pictures were fairly good - it looks like the ship is pretty much as she was 6 years ago, though the teak decking doesn't look quite as nice.

 

When I sailed in 2000, it looked like she had just been in drydock, because the blue paint on the hull gleamed and there wasn't a spot of rust anywhere. One thing I do remember being surprised about was the staircase configuration: there was one forward that went to each deck, but the after staircase was disjointed, and involved going through several corridors and passageways, many not on the deck plans. I remember finding it odd that I was getting lost on a 500-foot ship!

 

Thanks for the info on SOLAS too - very interesting!!