MS Sunward (1966)
MS Sunward in Key West in 1970 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | |
| Ordered | 1966 |
| Builder | Bergens Mekaniske Verksted |
| Yard number | 455 |
| Laid down | July 1965 |
| Launched | 24 March 1966 |
| Completed | 1966 |
| Acquired | 20 June 1966 |
| Maiden voyage | 25 June 1966 |
| In service | 1966 |
| Out of service | 2004 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6610663 |
| Fate | Scrapped in Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2004 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 8,666 tons |
| Length | 443 feet |
| Decks | 7 |
| Installed power | 1,800kW |
| Propulsion | Two B&W 12-42VT2BF - 90 Diesel |
| Speed | 20 knots |
| Capacity | 558 |
| Crew | 220 |
MS Sunward was a cruise ship built in 1966 for Knut Kloster. Originally designed and built for ferrying passengers and vehicles around the Bay of Biscay and Gibraltar, the promise and success of the Sunward would be short-lived. English currency restriction and the border closing between Spain and Gibraltar defeated the newly built ship's initial purpose. Ted Arison, an Israeli businessman, contacted Kloster about the possibility of converting the Sunward into a cruise ship in Miami. The Sunward operated as a cruise ship under the newly established Norwegian Caribbean Line. The ship proved to be such a success that Norwegian Caribbean Line commissioned newer, larger ships for its fleet, ultimately replacing the Sunward. She was sold to Compangnie Generale Transméditerranéenne in 1973, and later on with several companies. In 2004, the former Sunward was sold to Bangladeshi breakers for scrap. The vessel appeared in the 1970 dramatic film, "Darker than Amber" and the 1989 comedy "Going Overboard".