MS Insignia

MS Insignia is the lead ship of the R class of cruise ships built for Renaissance Cruises. She is now owned by Oceania Cruises as part of its Regatta class of ships, but recently sailed for Hapag-Lloyd as the Columbus 2. She was built in 1998 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France for Renaissance Cruises as MS R One.[4] On 11 December 2014, 3 crew members died in a fire that broke out in the engine room when the ship was docked in St. Lucia.[5]

Insignia in Montreal, October 2023
History
Name
  • R One (1998–2003)
  • Insignia (2004–2012)
  • Columbus 2 (2012–2014)
  • Insignia (2014–present)
Owner
Operator
  • Renaissance Cruises (1998–2001)
  • laid up (2001–2002)
  • Oceania Cruises (2003–2012)
  • Hapag-Lloyd (2012–2014)
  • Oceania Cruises (2014-Present)
Port of registry
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France
CostGB£150 million
Yard numberH31
Launched24 January 1998
Completed1998
AcquiredNovember 1998
In service1998
Identification
StatusOperational
Notes[1][2]
General characteristics
Class and type
Tonnage
Length180.45 m (592.0 ft)[3]
Beam25.73 m (84.4 ft)
Draught5.95 m (19.5 ft)
Decks9 (passenger accessible)
Installed power
Propulsion2 propellers
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity
  • 698 passengers (lower berths)
  • 824 passengers (all berths)
Crew400
Notes[1][2]

Concept and construction

Renaissance Cruises had begun operations in 1989, with a series of eight small luxury cruise ships constructed during the course of the next three years. In the mid-90s the company placed an order for eight identical 30,277 GT vessels with Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France. The first ship in the series, MS R One, was delivered in June 1998, followed by R Two in November of the same year.

MS Insignia is scheduled to undergo a significant renovation as a part of the company's $100 million OceaniaNEXT program. The refurbished cruise ship will debut in December 2018.[6]

Lease to Hapag-Lloyd
MS Columbus 2 in Pula, Croatia, May 2012

Beginning in April 2012, MS Insignia began what was initially announced as a two-year lease to Hapag-Lloyd, which renamed the ship Columbus 2.[7]

Hapag-Lloyd decided that after 2014 they would not renew the charter of the Columbus 2, in favor of focusing their luxury product. Insignia rejoined the Oceania fleet in 31 May 2014.[8]

Engine fire

On 11 December 2014 whilst alongside in Castries, St. Lucia, Insignia experienced a major fire in her engine room. Two Wartsila N.A. field service engineers and one crew member, working in the engine room at the time, lost their lives. The resulting damages made it necessary to end the voyage started just 4 days prior in Miami.[9] All passengers were disembarked and flown to their home towns. After minor repairs to restore power, MS Insignia was towed to San Juan, Puerto Rico where she was fully repaired.

The ship was back in service by 22 March 2015 to start a world cruise from Singapore. The delayed departure date for the cruise resulted in a heavily modified itinerary, although many of the principal cruise destinations were still visited.[10]

References

Notes
  1. Asklander, Micke (2012). "M/S R ONE (1998)". Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  2. "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel MS Insignia". VesselTracker. 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  3. "Equasis". www.veristar.com.
  4. "Oceania Cruises: Insignia (2004- )". Simplon Postcards. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  5. "3 dead after fire breaks out on Oceania Cruises ship". WPLG. 12 December 2014.
  6. "Oceania Cruises Remodeling Every Stateroom on Their Four Cruise Ships". cruisefever.net. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  7. Sue Bryant (11 January 2011). "Luxury Line Leaps Into Family Cruising". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  8. "Returning Insignia, Hapag-Lloyd shifts back to luxury, expedition focus". seatrade-cruise.com. 28 April 2014.
  9. "Three workers die after Insignia engine room fire". Seatrade Insider. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  10. "Oceania Cruises will not drop Middle East and South Africa from Insignia world cruise following fire". Cruise Arabia & Africa. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

Bibliography

Media related to IMO 9156462 at Wikimedia Commons

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