M.F. AZERBAYDZHAN

Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO)

Soviet Union, Ukraine

 

Photo taken at Karakoy Docks, Istanbul, 1987.

 

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: 21.50 knots

Operating Routes: Used to make Odessa based European/Mediterranean cruises. Caribbean and world cruises were also made occasionally under charter. She later made 2-5 night Caribbean-Mexican cruises under the Commodore Cruise Lines.

Sister Ships: M.F. Belorussiya, M.F. Kareliya, M.F. Gruziya, M.F. Kazakhstan.

Former Names: None

Later Names: M.S. Arkadiya (1996), M.S. Island Holiday (1997), M.S. Enchanted Capri (1998)

Owners:
- 1975-1995: Black Sea Shipping Company, Odessa, Ukraine.
- 1996-1996: Black Sea Shipping Company UK, under Liberian flag.
- 1996-1998: Winchester Navigation Ltd., Odessa, Ukraine, chartered to SeaEscape Cruises, Florida.
- 1998-2001: Commodore Cruise Line.
- 2001-Present: Laid up in New Orleans after Commodore went out of business.

History and Current Status: Between 1975 and 1995, she sailed for the Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO) of Odessa. In 1984, she got converted to a cruise only vessel at Germany's Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven. In 1995, after the collapse of BLASCO, she got transferred to BLASCO UK, under the Liberian flag and she was renamed M.S. Arkadiya. She then was purchased immediately by the Winchester Navigation Ltd. of Ukraine, keeping her name. In 1997 she got renovated. Between 1997 and 1998, she got chartered by the Sea Escape Ltd., under the name of M.S. Island Holiday, for US based cruises to Mexico and the Caribbean. She was then sold to Commodore Cruise Line and renamed M.S. Enchanted Capri for US based cruising. When Commodore went out of business in December, 2000, she got laid-up. She is still laid up as of December 2001.

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

Notes: M.F. Azerbaydzhan, similarly to M.F. Belorussiya, was a regular caller at the Port of Istanbul during the 80's because of her Black Sea/Mediterranean/European cruising itenerary. One would usually see her docked at Karakoy or sailing smoothly through Bosphorus, in a slowed-down sightseeing pace. Similarly to M.F. Belorussiya, she was making her stop at Istanbul on her way down to the Med, going transit northwards to Black Sea and Odessa. All I wish now is some company to purchase her and save her from her laid-up situation. With her Wartsila steel and quality, she should have at least another 10 years to go, if not more!

Links:

- Micke Asklander's MS Azerbaydzhan page.
- MS Azerbaydzhan from the Termaloma Photo Gallery.
- MS Azerbaydzhan from the Shipwest.no Cruise Gallery.
- MS Azerbaydzhan from Jan Tiedemann.
- Frederick Bartoli's MS Arkadiya page.
- Captain JLD Campa's MS Arkadiya.
- Cruise2.com's MS Island Holiday page.
- Expedia.com's MS Enchanted Capri page.
- Cruiseserver.net's MS Enchanted Capri page.

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

Other Pictures: