The Emerald in 2008 |
|
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS The Emerald |
| Owner: | Louis Cruise Lines |
| Operator: | Thomson Holidays |
| Port of registry: | Cyprus |
| Builder: | Litton-Ingrall, Gulfport, Mississippi |
| Cost: | US $25 million |
| Launched: | 1958 |
| In service: | 1958, as Santa Rosa 1992, as Regent Rainbow 1995, as Emerald 1997, as The Emerald 2010, as Emerald |
| Status: | Retired and laid up in November 2009 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage: | 26,431 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 182.57 m (599 ft 0 in) |
| Beam: | 25.6 m (84 ft 0 in) |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Capacity: | 1,198 passengers |
| Crew: | 412 officers and crew |
SS The Emerald is a cruise ship owned by the Cyprus-based shipping company Louis Cruise Lines. She was built in 1958 by the Northrop Grumman Shipyard in Gulfport, Mississipi, USA for Grace Lines as SS Santa Rosa. Between 1992 and 1995, she sailed for Regency Cruises as SS Regent Rainbow and between 1997 and 2008, she sailed for Thomson Cruises under its present name. As of 2007 she is the only passenger liner built at a U.S. shipyard (passenger liners having not been built there since 1958) that is still in service.[1]
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The ship was originally launched in 1958 as Santa Rosa, displacing 20,000 gross registered tons. She sailed under this name alongside her sister the SS Santa Paula for 13 years before she was laid up in 1971.[2] She was sold to Vintoro Corp of New York in 1976 and was renamed Samos Sky, to operate South American service once again, but this venture did not eventuate and the ship remained idle. In 1989, she was sold to Coral Cruise Lines and towed to Greece that December.
In March 1990, the Samos Sky arrived in Chalkis, Greece to be modernised and Coral Cruises renamed her Pacific Sun, then Diamond Island before selling her to the also Greek Lelakis Group later that year, who substantially rebuilt her at the cost of $70 million. She emerged in 1991, with a brand new superstructure above her unaltered hull, and was barely recognisable, although unusually she kept her steam turbine engines.
Now measuring 26,431 gross tonnes, the ship entered service under Regency Cruises as the popular Regent Rainbow from 1992, until Regency Cruises suffered extensive losses and was declared bankrupt in 1995. The Regent Rainbow was placed under arrest on 27 November of that year and, in December 1996, was sold to the Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines and renamed Emerald.
In 1997, the Emerald was chartered to Thomson Cruises (where The was added before her name) to operate cruises for the British market. She soon became the company's most popular ship,[3] and stayed with them until November 2008, when she was dropped in favor of a larger, more modern vessel. She was in danger of being withdrawn from service due to new SOLAS regulations coming into effect that would no longer allow her to be operated. She had been renamed Emerald according to the Louis Cruises website. [1] Louis Cruise Lines has said that Emerald is currently laid up and most likely will not sail again.[4] The Emerald was retired and laid up in September 2009.
Minor interest has been shown in mooring the ship as a hotel in California for a period of time, after which she could be rebuilt into her original form as Santa Rosa.[5] Louis is looking for owners who will operate The Emerald for further use (as she has been upgraded to meet SOLAS 2010 standards) while she is laid up at Eleusis alongside the MS Sapphire. As of 2011, both ships are being inspected by scrappers.[6]
The Emerald has ten decks, all ten of which are accessible to passengers.