MS Sovereign
{{Short description|Cruise ship (1987–2020)}}
{{For|other ships of this name|Sovereign of the Seas|Sovereign (ship)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Sovereign of the Seas Nassau Bahamas (244161813) (cropped).jpg | Ship caption = Sovereign of the Seas in Nassau, Bahamas, 2005 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = | Ship flag = | Ship name = *1988-2008: Sovereign of the Seas
| Ship owner = *1988-1997: Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
| Ship operator = *1988-2008: Royal Caribbean International
| Ship registry = *1987-2005: Oslo, {{NOR}} | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = *Chantiers de l'Atlantique | Ship laid down = June 10, 1986{{DNV|id=G107405|shipname=Sovereign|access-date=December 30, 2018}} | Ship launched = April 4, 1987 | Ship completed = December 18, 1987 | Ship christened = January 15, 1988 | Ship sponsor = Rosalynn Carter{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-01-17-8803220838-story.html |title=The Sovereign |first=Alfred |last=Borcover |work=Chicago Tribune |location=Miami |date=January 17, 1988 |access-date=2022-07-20}} | Ship maiden voyage = *January 16, 1988 as Sovereign of the Seas
| Ship in service = 1988–2020 | Ship out of service = 2020 | Ship identification = *Call sign: 9HUE9
| Ship fate = Scrapped in Aliağa in 2020 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = {{sclass|Sovereign|cruise ship}} | Ship tonnage = *{{GT|73,529}}
| Ship displacement = | Ship length = {{convert|268.32|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|32.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draft = {{convert|7.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = *Four 9-cylinder Pielstick-Alsthom diesel engines
| Ship propulsion = *Two controllable pitch propellers
| Ship speed = {{convert|21.5|kn}} | Ship capacity = 2,650 passengers | Ship crew = | Ship notes = }} |
MS Sovereign (formerly Sovereign of the Seas) was one of three large cruise ships of the {{sclass|Sovereign|cruise ship|4}} operated by Pullmantur Cruises and formerly by Royal Caribbean International. When she was completed in 1987, Sovereign of the Seas was the world's largest passenger ship.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kCxPpdTQZoC&dq=France+largest+passenger+ship+1972&pg=PA67|title=Royal Caribbean International|author=Brian J. Cudahy|publisher=Cornell Maritime Press|year=2001|page=67|isbn=978-0-87033-529-7 }} On 24 June 2020, due to economic losses caused by COVID-19 pandemic, Sovereign arrived and was beached at Aliağa, Turkey, where she was dismantled.
History
File:Sovereign (4052491744).jpg in 2008 with her original Pullmantur livery]]
File:Pullmantur Cruises Sovereign 04 IMO 8512281 @chesi (cropped).JPG
She sailed on her maiden voyage on January 16, 1988, and was initially based at the Port of Miami.
In 1998 and 1999, the Royal Caribbean International cruise company was fined US$9 million because Sovereign of the Seas had repeatedly dumped oily waste into the ocean and tried to hide this using false records, including fake piping diagrams given to the US Coast Guard. Because the company was and is incorporated in Liberia, Royal Caribbean argued that this case was not in the jurisdiction of US courts.
Her refurbishment in November 2004 was the subject of the Travel Channel mini-series Dry-Dock, A Cruise Ship Reborn.{{cite web |url=http://www.royalcaribbean.com/gatewayPage.do?pagename=discovery_channel&pnav=3&snav=0
|title=Royal Caribbean International - Dry-Dock, A Cruise Ship Reborn - Official Page |access-date=May 18, 2011}}{{Citation |title=Dry Dock: A Cruise Ship Reborn (Part 1) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDGsdnLnQCI |access-date=2024-03-18 |language=en}} Throughout her time with Royal Caribbean she sailed cruises to the Bahamas and the Caribbean out of Miami and Port Canaveral, Florida. These cruises visited Coco Cay, one of RCI's privately owned islands, in the Berry Islands group.
In November 2008 Sovereign of the Seas was transferred to the fleet of Pullmantur Cruises, a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd subsidiary, and renamed MS Sovereign. Sovereign set sail on its first voyage with Pullmantur Cruises on March 23, 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-12-2007/0004680941&EDATE= |title=Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Transfers Royal Caribbean International Ship to Pullmantur |access-date=January 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121080245/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104 |archive-date=January 21, 2009 |url-status=dead }} Similar to other ships in the same class, Sovereign had a multi-deck atrium lobby and a top-deck, funnel-mounted lounge with panoramic views of the sea. The ship's facilities included nine bars, five restaurants, four pools, a spa and a casino.{{cite web
|url = http://www.pullmantur.es/en/barco/sovereign/datos-tecnicos.html
|title = SOVEREIGN Technical Data
|website = Pullmantur
|access-date = June 2, 2014
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140707184748/http://www.pullmantur.es/en/barco/sovereign/datos-tecnicos.html
|archive-date = July 7, 2014
}}
In 2018, the ship was featured in the film Yucatán, filmed by Telecinco Cinema.{{Cite web|date=2018-06-13|title=El buque Sovereign de Pullmantur Cruceros, protagonista de 'Yucatán', la nueva película de Daniel Monzón|url=https://www.cruisesnews.es/Portal/2018/06/13/el-buque-sovereign-de-pullmantur-cruceros-protagonista-de-yucatan-la-nueva-pelicula-de-daniel-monzon/|access-date=2022-01-16|website=Portal de noticias de cruceros de CNMG|language=es}}
File:Monarch et Sovereign en Turquie pour être démantelés.jpg, Turkey in July 2020]]
File:AliagaPanoramaOctober2020 (left).jpg
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sovereign and {{MS|Monarch}} were placed into "cold lay-up" and Pullmantur Cruises filed for financial reorganization.{{cite news |title=Pullmantur Ships Move to Cold Lay-up |url=https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23074-pullmantur-ships-move-to-cold-lay-up.html |access-date=28 June 2020 |work=Cruise Industry News |date=11 June 2020 |location=New York NY}}
According to reports, the interiors of the ships were stripped of "everything of value."{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Jim |title=Is Pullmantur Cruises Ending Operations? |url=https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2020/06/articles/disease/is-pullmantur-cruises-ending-operations/ |access-date=28 June 2020 |work=Cruise Law News |publisher=Walker & O'Neill Maritime Lawyers |date=21 June 2020 |location=South Miami FL}} On 23 July 2020 she was beached in Aliağa alongside her sistership Monarch, which was beached one day before. Scrapping began in August that year and was finished in February 2021.{{cite web|url=https://cruises-info.com/sovereign-has-been-totally-scrapped/|title=Sovereign has been totally scrapped|date=2021-02-14|access-date=2021-02-15}}
See also
- Yucatán, a 2018 Spanish comedy film set on MS Sovereign.
- Dil Dhadakne Do, a 2015 Indian family feature film was set on MS Sovereign.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|IMO 8512281}}
- {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720195404/http://www.pullmanturcruises.co.uk/ships/sovereign|title=Official website|date=July 20, 2020}}
{{Largest passenger ships}}
{{Royal Caribbean Cruise International Ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sovereign}}
Category:Ships of Royal Caribbean International