SUNWARD (Klosters Rederi)

postcard by J.Arthur Dixon, no. SS.6588, 

not posted, vmf, 

6" x 4", 150mm x 100mm (approx)

our ref: SRM350

SUNWARD (Klosters Rederi)

Cruise-ferry built at Bergen as Sunward for Klosters Rederi. She entered service in June 1966 between Southampton, Vigo, Lisbon and Gibraltar. Not a success, the service was ended 5 months later. In December 1966 she was transferred to new company Norwegian Caribbean and cruising out of Miami. Sold in 1973 to Cie. Generale Transmediterraneenne and renamed Ile De Beaute. In 1977 sold to Eastern Gulf Inc and used as a hotel ship at Sharjah with the name Grand Flotel. In 1978 sold to Saudi Maritime Transport Company and renamed Saudi Moon, operating Suez-Aqaba-Jeddah. Sold in 1984 to Sabah Maritime of Jeddah, no change of name. In 1988 she was sold to Ocean Quest International and after refurbishment at Singapore she was renamed Ocean Spirit and placed on dive cruises from New Orleans to Cozumel, Belize and Cancun. In 1990 she was sold to Ferry Charter Ltd and chartered to SeaEscape, renamed Scandinavian Song making day cruises out of St. Petersburg, Florida. From 1991 she was chartered by Danish Cruise Lines in the Caribbean, returning to SeaEscape in 1993. In January 1994 she started cruising out of Havana for Fratelli Cosulich as Santiago De Cuba but this only lasted one month. She was then chartered to Empress Cruises of Singapore and placed on a cruise service between Port Klang and Penang as The Empress. In 2002 she was used as a hotel ship in Timor for 6 months before being sold to Jaisu Shipping of Mumbai, renamed Empress, but was then laid up at Sembawang, Singapore. Sold to ship breakers in Bangladesh in 2004.