Star Cruises
 | |
| Type |
Public SEHK: 678 SGX: S21 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Passenger transportation |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong, Asia |
| Key people | Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, CEO |
| Website | StarCruises.com |
Star Cruises, a member of Genting Hong Kong, is the third largest[1] cruise line in the world behind companies such as Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean Cruises. Star Cruises dominates the Asia-Pacific market and is owned by Genting Hong Kong who also owns 43% of the Norwegian Cruise Line and NCL America with a total combined fleet of 20 ships and over 41,850 berths. The company is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange.
Star Cruises is credited with almost single handedly developing the cruise industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Its foray into the global shipping market has allowed it to tap into lucrative and more mature markets in North America and Europe. Its services cater to Asian passengers as well as to North Americans, Europeans and Australians interested in Asian destinations.
The chairman of Star Cruises is Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the son of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, the founder of Malaysia's Genting Highlands.
History
Star Cruises was founded as an associate of the Genting Group of Malaysia,[2] incorporated in Bermuda on 10 November 1993 with its corporate headquarters in Hong Kong.[3] The company's first ships were two cruiseferries acquired from the bankrupted estate of Swedish Rederi AB Slite. In the following years, the company purchased several other used ships. In 1998, Star Cruises took delivery of its first new build, SuperStar Leo, followed by sister ship SuperStar Virgo in 1999. Star Cruises also acquired Sun Cruises the same year.
In 2000, Star Cruises fully acquired Norwegian Cruise Line, including its subsidiaries Orient Lines and Norwegian Capricorn Line, becoming the first global cruise line in the world. Norwegian Capricorn Line operations were soon merged into those of Star Cruises. Before the purchase of NCL, Star Cruises had several other new builds either planned or already under construction, but with the merger of the two companies, most of the constructed builds joined the NCL fleet instead of Star Cruises'.
In 2001, Star Cruises founded a new sister company, Cruise Ferries, which began operating its sole ship, Wasa Queen, on short cruises from Hong Kong to Xiamen followed by overnight gambling cruises from Hong Kong and gambling cruises from Port Klang in Kuala Lumpur. Wasa Queen ceased to function and was sold to another company in 2007.
In 2004, SuperStar Leo, Star Cruises' then-largest ship, was transferred to NCL to take over Norwegian Sky cruises as she had to be rushed into service under NCL America brand due to the Pride of America not being ready on time due to sinking at Lloyd Werft shipyard. Since 2006, the trend has been that new ships were to be built for NCL, and the old ships in the NCL fleet would be transferred to the Star Cruises fleet in Asia.
In early 2008, both NCL America and Orient Lines brands were discontinued, with the latter's sole ship, MS Marco Polo, sold to Greek interests. Also in that year, the first ship from NCL was transferred to the Star Cruises fleet as SuperStar Libra.
Starting from 2011, Star Cruises received a new hullart. SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Aquarius and Star Pisces have received their new hullart.
It was announced on April 27, 2012 that the Norwegian Dream will join the Star fleet, she will be named as SuperStar Gemini and will start service in 2012.[4]
On October 7, 2013, Star Cruises announced that Star Cruises and their parent company, Genting Hong Kong, have entered into an agreement with Meyer Werft shipyard for the construction of one new cruise ship for Star. The vessel will have capacity for 3,364 passengers at double occupancy.[5]
Fleet
Current fleet
| Ship | Year Built | Entered service with Star Cruises | Last Refurbishment | Gross Tonnage | Current Home Port | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Pisces | 1990 | 1994–Present | 2011 | 40,012 tons | Hong Kong | Previously Kalypso |  |
| SuperStar Virgo | 1999 | 1999–Present | 2012 | 75,338 tons | Singapore - Present Hong Kong April 2014 - October 2014 | Sister to the Norwegian Spirit, Star Cruises first newly built at the time. |  |
| SuperStar Libra | 1988 | 2005–Present | 2013 | 42,275 tons | Penang, Malaysia | Previously Norwegian Sea |  |
| SuperStar Aquarius | 1993 | 2007–Present | 2011 | 51,309 tons | Kota Kinabalu - 6 November 2013 to 30 March 2014 | Previously Norwegian Wind |  |
| SuperStar Gemini | 1992 | 2012–Present | 2012 | 50,764 tons | Sanya, China - Present Singapore April 2014 - October 2014 | Previously Norwegian Dream |  |
| Genting World | 1989 | 1999–Present | 2013 | 3,370 tons | Previously MegaStar Aries (1999-2013) | .jpg) |
Future ships
| Ship | Class | Inaugural Run | Gross Tonnage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperStar Sagittarius | Similar to NCL Breakaway Class | 2016 | 150,000 GT[6] | This ship is schedule for delivery in Fall 2016 |
Previous ships
| Ship | Built | In service for Star Cruises | Gross Tonnage | Status as of 2012 | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperStar Leo | 1998 | 1998–2004 | 75,338 GT | Transferred to Norwegian Cruise Line as Norwegian Spirit. |  |
| Langkapuri Star Aquarius | 1988 | 1993–2001 | 40,012 GT | Now Pearl Seaways for DFDS. |  |
| SuperStar Gemini | 1992 | 1995–2009 | 19,093 GT | Now Gemini but is currently laid up. |  |
| SuperStar Capricorn | 1973 | 1997–1998 2001–2004 | 21,891 GT | Now Boudicca for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. |  |
| SuperStar Sagittarius | 1972 | 1998 | 16,607 GT | Now known as Oriental Dragon. |  |
| SuperStar Europe SuperStar Aries | 1980 | 1998–2004 SuperStar Europe - (1999–2000) SuperStar Aries - (2000–2004) | 37,301 GT | Now Saga Sapphire for Saga Cruises. |  |
| SuperStar Taurus | 1980 | 2000–2001 | 15,179 GT | Now Cristal for Louis Cruise Lines. |  |
| SuperStar Libra | 2001 | Never entered service | 91,740 GT | Now Norwegian Star for Norwegian Cruise Line. |  |
| SuperStar Scorpio | 2002 | Never entered service | 92,250 GT | Now Norwegian Dawn for Norwegian Cruise Line. |  |
| MegaStar Sagittarius | 2000 | 1988–1997 2000–2001 | 4,200 GT | Now Spirit of Oceanus for Cruise West. | N/A |
| MegaStar Capricorn | 1991 | 2000 | 4,280 GT | Now Hebridean Spirit for Hebridean Island Cruise. | N/A |
| MegaStar Taurus | 1989 | --- | 3,341 GT | Charter ship. | N/A |
References
- ↑ "2012 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. 2011-11-20.
- ↑ Group Profile – Star Cruises Limited, retrieved on 27 July 2005
- ↑ Star Cruises 2004 Annual Report, retrieved on 15 March 2007
- ↑ http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/7180-norwegian-dream-set-to-sail-for-star.html
- ↑ http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/10001-star-cruises-orders-new-ship-from-meyer-werft.html
- ↑ "Project Breakaway Ships". Ship-Technology.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Star Cruises. |
| |||||||||||
| |||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
