M.F. GRUZIYA

Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO)

Soviet Union, Ukraine

 

BLASCO issued postcard.

 

Built: 1975 by Oy Wartsila AB, Turku Shipyard, Finland as a cruise/car ferry.

Technical:  

Overall length: 156.2 m

Beam: 22.0 m

Draft: 5.9 m

Gross Tonnage: 16331 tons

Passengers: 650

Power: 2 Pielstick-Wartsila diesels, 18000 HP

Service Speed: 21.0 knots

Operating Routes: Worldwide cruising, including the Caribbean, America's and the Mediterranean.

Sister Ships:

- M.F. Belorussiya,
- M.F. Kareliya,
- M.F. Kazakhstan,
- M.F. Azerbaydzhan.

Former Names: None

Later Names: M.S. Odessa Sky (1995), M.S. Club I (March, 1999), M.S. Van Gogh (Dec, 1999)

Owners:
- 1975-1995: Black Sea Shipping Company, Odessa, Ukraine.
- 1995-1999: Black Sea Shipping Company UK, under Liberian flag.
- 1998-1999: Eltek Europe B.V., Kingstown, Saint Vincent, chartered to Club Cruise of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
- 1999-Present: Martiem & Leasing Ltd., Kingstown, Saint Vincent.

History and Current Status: Between 1975 and 1994, she was under the management of the Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO) of the Soviet Union, and then Ukraine. She got converted to a cruise vessel in 1992. In 1994, she got transferred to BLASCO UK and strated sailing under the Liberian flag with a new name, MS Odessa Sky. In August, 1995, she got arrested in Montreal, Canada because of BLASCO's debts. In late August 1996, she returned to Odessa, to be arrested again in Wilhelmshaven in September, 1996, for a period of 18 months. In 1998, following her purchase by Eltek Europe B.V., she went through renovations at Lloyd-Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany, between September 1998 and April 1999. In May 1999, she got christened MS Club I and resumed cruising under the management of the Club Cruise of Rotterdam. She spent one season cruising in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. In December 1999, France based group, Nouvelles-Frontieres chartered her for 3 years, with a possible 2 year extension. As of December 2001, she was still operating under charter to Nouvelles-Frontieres under the new name, M.S. Van Gogh.

It looks like, however, the 2 year extension never took place since as of May 20th, 2002, M.S. Van Gogh is chartered by Travelscope and is going to be used on 9 day cruises out of Falmouth, UK, in 2002 and 2003. She will also be used for Norwegian Fjord and Western Med cruises under charter to Warner Holidays of UK, which teamed up with Travelscope, in 2002.

BONUS: Check out the previous S.S. Gruziya of the Soviet Union.

(email all info about her to ata.bilgili@dartmouth.edu)

Notes: Named after the Soviet Republic of Georgia, MF Gruziya was another common, yet non-regular sight at Istanbul. Her worldwide cruising schedule kept her away from her home port of Odessa for long periods of time. Her sight was typical for a Belorussiya class vessel, warm, familiar and volatile. I saw her more than I can remember but never had my camera on any of the occasions.

Links:

- Micke Asklander's MS Gruziya page.
- A .pdf article from InfoMer mentioning lease of Van Gogh (photo included) by Nouvelles-Frontieres..

Line Drawings: From the book "Soviet Bloc Merchant Ships" by Bruno Bock and Klaus Bock, 1981.

Other Pictures:

From CruiseNY at CruisePage. M.S. Odessa Sky, laid up in Montreal, Canada.

Postcards from My Collection: