Black Watch in Helsinki 15 September 2016

As most of you might have noticed, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines changed their livery for this year, with a new grey-hulled colour scheme, recalling the livery of their passenger liners of old (alas, with a darker shade of grey than the old one). This, of course, was a perfect excuse to photograph their ships again. Except, when the Black Watch's visit to Helsinki loomed, I realised I had never photographed the ship before (I have, on the other hand, photographed both sisters, the Boudicca and Albatros before). So, this is also an excuse to do another one of the terribly long history entries.

Black Watch

IMO 7108930
Former names: Royal Viking Star, Westward, Star Odyssey, Black Watch
Built 1972, Wärtsilä Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 28 221 GT
Length 205,47 m
Width 25,19 m
Draugth 7,30 m
820 passengers
4 MAN/B&W diesels, combined 14 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

The Black Watch was built for Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (BDS), the Norwegian shipowner that were a partner in Hurtigruten, operated a ferry service from Bergen to Newcastle, and ran the cruise ship Meteor. The latter, however, was becoming outdated in the late 1960s, and in 1969 the company ordered a replacement from Wärtsilä in Helsinki, who at the time were building the first trio of ships for Royal Caribbean, but had never actually completed a cruise ship yet. However, after BDS had ordered their ship (originally planned to be named Stella Polaris, after what was probably BDS' most famous cruise ship), they were approached by two other Norwegian shipowners, Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskipsselskap (who were BDS' partners in Hurtigruten) and A.F. Klaveness & Co., who wished to establish a joint subsidiary with BDS for worldwide cruising. This was agreed on, and Royal Viking Line was formed, with the BDS ship renamed Royal Viking Star. Originally, the plan was for each of the three ships to carry the funnel colours of their respective owners as was done with Hurtigruten – in BDS' case, three white stripes on a black background – but in the end all three ships were painted with Royal Viking Line's funnel colours.

The Royal Viking Star entered service in June 1972, as the first ship of Royal Viking Line. The line, with their world-wide itineraries, quickly proved a success, and in 1981 the Royal Viking Star was sent for lengthening at the Seebeckwerft shipyard in West Germany. However, financially the result was less satisfactory. A.F. Klaveness had withdrawn from the consortium already in 1977, and in 1984 Royal Viking Line became a part of the burgeoning Kloster Cruise empire. With the arrival of new tonnage in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Kloster decided that the original Royal Viking trio was ill-suited for needs of modern luxury cruising, and in 1991 the Royal Viking Star was transferred to the fleet of the sister company Norwegian Cruise Line as the Westward. In the NCL fleet the ship was used for week-long party cruises for the US market, a use it was singularly unsuited for.

In 1994 the ship was again transferred within the Kloster group, now to Royal Cruise Line, a more upmarket subsidy, becoming the Star Odyssey. Royal Cruise Line already operated the Star Odyssey's sister Royal Odyssey, originally the Royal Viking Sea. However, our ship's stint as the Star Odyssey was to prove short, as Kloster were facing acute financial difficulties, as a result of which the Star Odyssey was sold to Fred. Olsen in late 1996.

Fred. Olsen were, at the time, running a single-ship cruise operation aimed at the UK market using the 1966-vintage Black Prince. The company, however, felt there was much growth potential and were eager to secure a second ship to run alongside the Black Prince. The Star Odyssey fit their needs perfectly, and upon learning she was for sale the Olsens quickly secured her, renaming the ship Black Watch, after the Black Prince's original sister ship and running mate. The Black Watch was given a refit to bring its interiors up to the style of its new owners, and following teething problems the ship set into service comfortably. Indeed, such was the success of the Black Prince and Black Watch that in 2001 a third ship, the Braemar, was added.

Between April and June 2005, the Black Watch was re-engined at Blohm & Voss in Germany, adding to the ship's lifespan. Already before the refit, it had been made public that Fred. Olsen had purchased the Black Watch's sister Grand Latino (originally the Royal Viking Sky), which eventually joined the fleet as the Boudicca in February 2006.

The Black Watch remains in the Fred. Olsen fleet to date. There have been numerous rumours that the Olsens are looking to acquire newer ships to their fleet, and as the Black Watch is their oldest vessel, turning 45 next year; even with the new engines, the Black Watch is the likeliest candidates to leave the fleet to make way for new tonnage (alongside the slightly younger Boudicca).

The photos below show the Black Watch at the cruise quay at Helsinki Eteläsatama, and afterwards passing through the Kustaanmiekka strait after departure, on 15 September 2016. First photo taken from onboard the Tor (one of the ferries to Suomenlinna) and the rest from the ramparts of Kustaanmiekka. Click on the images to see them in larger size.

The Black Watch back at home, with the city's two most famous landmarks in the background.

The roman berries nicely match the ship's funnel colours.

An exceedingly fine-looking design that. And the grey hull is starting to grow on me, though I still think they should have picked a slightly lighter shade.

Thought the narrow bit...

...and onwards to the open sea!

Kships will return.

Boudicca in Helsinki, 10 October 2011

Today marked the end of the summer 2011 cruise season in Helsinki, with Fred. Olsen Cruise Line's Boudicca wrapping up the season. While the weather was far from ideal, I headed out to document the season closer. The next time we'll see something more unusual in Helsinki is around new year, when several ferries will be making four- and five-night cruises out of St. Petersburg under charter to Russian tour operators. But for today, I'm breaking the chronology of my entries to bring you Boudicca's season closing in (almost) real time.

Boudicca

IMO 7218395
Former names: Royal Viking Sky, Sunward, Birka Queen, Golden Princess, SuperStar Capricorn, Hyundai Keumgang, Grand Latino
Built 1973, Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland
Tonnage 28 388 GT
Length 205,47 m
Width 25,20 m
Draugth 7,55 m
900 passengers
4 MAN/B&W diesels, combined 14 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

For a detailed history of the Boudicca, see the previous entry on her. Unusually, this time around the Boudicca called in the West Harbour rather than the South Harbour (it seems to be a policy of the port to route the autumn visits to the West Harbour, probably due to easier navigation). This meant a homecoming of sorts for the ship, as she was built at the Hietalahti shipyard only a few hundred metres from the cruise quay.

Boudicca departing from Helsinki West Harbour on 10 October 2011. Photographed from Hernesaari. Click on the individual images to see in larger size.

As you can maybe judge from the spray and the look of the sea in general, thiswas not he weather for a neat and calm cruise. I can't say I envy the passengers on the ship this time, being as they are headed for an autumn storm on the Baltic.

SPRAY! Not to mention the attractive Knud E. Hansen A/S -designed lines of the ship herself of course.

Notice the change in the position of the way marker compared to the above image (yes, it is the same marker).

I was hoping to capture some autumn foliage into these images, but I was not much in luck. You can see some yellow tress in the background of this image though.

Boudicca, 15 August 2008

Boudicca

IMO 7218395
Built 1973, Wärtsilä Helsinki, Finland
Tonnage 28 388 GT
Length 205,47 m
Width 25,20 m
Draught 7,55 m
900 passengers
4 MAN/B&W diesels, combined 14 000 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 22 knots

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines' Boudicca is a classic ship, one of the first cruise ships ever to be built at Wärtsilä's Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki. She was built as the Royal Viking Sky, the second of three ships built for the Royal Viking Line, a new luxury cruise line established by the Norwegian shipping companies Der Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (DBS, better known in English as the Bergen Line), Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab and AF Klaveness & Co. Each company owned one of the three ships, which were joint marketed as Royal Viking Line. The Royal Viking Sky was (probably) owned by Nordenfjeldske, although some sources state she was owned by Bergen Line instead. Some even claim she was owned by Kloster Cruise (the owners of Norwegian Cruise Line) but this must be a mistake as Kloster only became involved in Royal Viking Line later on.

Reagrdless of who owned her, the Royal Viking Sky entered service in 1973. Through-out the 70s the Royal Viking trio competed for the title of the world's most luxurious cruise ships with Norwegian America Line's Sagafjord and Vistafjord. In order to increase the company's capacity without needing to order new ships, the Royal Viking Line partners decided to have the three ships each lengthened with the addition of the 28-meter long midsection. For the Royal Viking Sky the lengthening was carried out at the A.G. Weser shipyard in Bremerhaven, West Germany in autumn 1982. The lengthening however proved to be a mistake: the ships lost much of the intimate atmosphere that had made them popular and without all-new ships Royal Viking Line had trouble competing with brands with newer, purpose-built ships.

In 1984 Kloster Cruise took over the Royal Viking Line. In 1991 all of the original Royal Viking sisters were transferred to othwer Kloster-owned brands (Royal Viking Line continued trading with the newer Royal Viking Sun and Royal Viking Queen until 1994 when the brand was sold to Cunard Line). The Royal Viking Sky briefly became Norwegian Cruise Line's Sunward, but already in 1992 she was sold to the Finland-based Birka Line, who renamed her Birka Queen and used her for cruises from Stockholm to St. Petersburg and Riga. (Birka had been building a new ship, also to be named Birka Queen, at Wärtsilä's Turku shipyard, but opted not to continue building the ship after Wärtsilä Marine's bankruptcy and bought the Sunward instead).

After the 1992 summer season the Birka Queen was chartered back to Norwegian Cruise Line for the 1992-1993 winter season, reverting to the name Sunward. Birka opted not to operate the ship themselves for the 1993 summer season, and instead she was now chartered to Princess Cruises, becoming the Golden Princess for cruising to Alaska. After Princess Cruises acquired new tonnage in 1996 they had no further need for the Golden Princess, and Birka Line sold her to Star Cruises. In 1997-1998 the ship sailed as their SuperStar Capricorn. Her iteneraries apparently included casino cruising out of New York. In 1998 Hyundai Merchant Marine chartered the ship for five years, renamed her Hyundai Keumgang and used her for cruising from South Korea to North Korea. However, Hyundai Merchant Marine went bankrupt already in 2001, and the ship returned to Star Cruises service and reverted to the name SuperStar Capricorn.

In 2004 Star Cruises sold the SuperStar Capricorn to Viajes Iberojet, who renamed her Grand Latino for Mediterranean cruising. After a little under two years with the ship Iberojet sold her, now to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. In keeping with their tradition of giving names beginning with "B" to their ships, Olsen planned on naming the ship Boadicea after the legendary celtic queen. This was later altered to Boudicca, in accordance with the spelling currently preferred by historians. Prior to entering service with Fred. Olsen the Boudicca sailed to the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, where she was refitted with new engines, additional suites with balconies and her interiors thoroughly rebuilt. Since February 2006 the Boudicca has been in service with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, sailing on varied iteneraries around the world.

Photographs below show the Boudicca deparing Helsinki on 15 August 2008. Click on the individual images to view full size.

The usual view, entering the Kustaanmiekka strait.

In the strait, showing her very fine Tage Wandborg -designed lines,

That's a fine rear you've got there, queen Boudicca. :P

Parting shot as the Boudicca heads on to open waters.

Braemar, 27 September 2010

Braemar

IMO 9000687
Built 1993, Union Naval de Levante Valencia, Spain
Tonnage 24 344 GT
Length 195,92 m
Width 22,50 m
Draugth 5,45 m
977 passengers
4 Wärtsilä diesels, combined 12 945 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 17 knots

Braemar, a sister ship to Quail Cruises' Gemini previously featured in this blog, was originally built for Crown Cruise Line as the Crown Dynasty for Caribbean cruising. Unusually small for a mass-market cruise ship built in the early 1990s, the Crown Dynasty and her sister Crown Jewel were not huge success and soon a charter to Cunard Line was arranged, resulting in the formation of the downmarket Cunard brand Cunard Crown Cruises. To match the name of the brand the Crown Dynasty was marketed as the Cunard Crown Dynasty during this time.

The sources available to me about the Crown Dynasty's career for the period after the end of Cunard Crown around 1994 are less than clear. It seems that after the closure of Cunard Crown she returned to Crown Cruise Line service. EffJohn, Crown's owners, closed down the brand in 1997, and it is known that in 1997 the Crown Dynasty was chartered to Majesty Cruise Line as the Crown Majesty. In late 1997 Norwegian Cruise Line apparently acquired Majesty Cruise Line, and the Crown Majesty became their Norwegian Dynasty, still under charter from EffJohn. In 1999 EffJohn sold the Norwegian Dynasty to their former subsidiary Commodore Cruise Line, who reactivated the Crown Cruise Line brand and the Norwegian Dynasty re-entered service under her original brand and her original name Crown Dynasty. The second coming of Crown Cruise Line was short-lived, as already in early 2001 Commodore Cruise Line went bankrupt.

Around the same time as Commodore (and therefore their subsidiary Crown) went bust, the Norway-based Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines was looking for a third vessel to add to their fleet. As the Olsens' cruise operation has specialized in medium-size vessels, very few newer ships fit what they were looking for. The prospect of building a new ships of suitable dimensions was ruled to be uneconomic and as such Fred. Olsen was forced to seek out a second-hand ship. The Crown Dynasty appeared to suit the Olsens' needs perfectly and in May 2001 they acquired her, renaming the ship Braemar. The name Braemar is traditional in the Fred. Olsen fleet and this is in fact the third Braemar in their fleet. The name originates from the village of Braemar near Balmoral Castle in the UK.

After a large-scale rebuilding where the Braemar's passenger capacity was reduced(!) from 916 to 819, she entered service for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines in August 2001. With her new owners the Braemar sailed on diverse iteneraries in Northern Europe, the Caribbean, the Amazon river, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic isles. During the latter half of the decade the Olsens' begun enlarging the capacity of their fleet by lengthening their ships. The newly-acquired Balmoral acquired in 2007 was given a 30-meter midsection prior to entering service. Apparently the experiences with this were positive and in May-June 2008 the Braemar was lengthened by 31 metres at Blohm + Voss Hamburg.

Unfortunately for the external apperance of the ship, at the same time a new structure was added above the bridge of the ship (containing an observation lunge and cabins with balconies), which obliterated the sleek original design of the forward superstructure. Somewhat less damaging to her looks was addition of a new restaurant on the top deck aft of the funnel. All this not to say I wouldn't think the Braemar is still a nice-looking ship... but her unaltered sister Gemini looks much better.

Photographs below are of the Braemar in Helsinki on 27 September 2010. She was the penultimate visiting cruise ship in Helsinki for the 2010 season - the last one will be Cruise & Maritime Voyages' Marco Polo that will be visiting our port on 12 October 2010. Sadly I have an exam slated for her departure time.

Click on the image(s) to view full size.

At the cruise quay at Katajanokka, lifting one of the lifeboats. photographed from onboard Suomenlinna II.

Entering the Kustaanmiekka strait - notice the added observatory atop the bridge mentioned in the text above. This and the pictures below photographed from Kustaanmiekka.

In the Kustaanmiekka strait, with the ramparts of the sea fortress in the foreground.

Cleared the strait and heading out to the less-than-welcoming Bay of Finland.

Balmoral, 13 July 2009

Balmoral

IMO 8506294
Built 1988, Meyer Werft Papenburg, West Germany
Tonnage 43 537 GT
Length 218,18 m
Width 28,21 m
Draugth 7,26 m
1 778 passengers
4 MaK diesels, combined 21 330 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 20 knots

Balmoral was originally built in 1988 for Greece-based Royal Cruise Line as the Crown Odyssey. As built she was a neat-looking smallish ship, with her nicely streamlined funnel balanced by an oval-shaped observation lounge located below the radar mast. Royal Cruise Line was later absorbed by the Kloster Cruise empire, and on closure of the Royal brand the Crown Odyssey passed to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1996, becoming their Norwegian Crown. In 2000 the Norwegian Crown was transferred to the fleet of NCL's subsidiary Orient Lines and reverted to her original name Crown Odyssey. In 2003 she again returned to NCL's fleet and her old name as Norwegian Crown. Prior to her re-entry into service with NCL the ship was rebuilt with a spa-section above the bridge, ruining the fine lines of her forward superstructure. In 2007 the ship was sold to Fred. Olsen Cruise Line and she was renamed Balmoral. Prior to entering service with her new owners the ship was again rebuilt, now with the addition of a 30-meter-long midsection, further compromising her original good looks. Some reports indicate Fred. Olsen actually planned on removing the spa from the above the bridge, which certainly would have improved the ship's looks. Of course, this never came to pass and the information could easily be a rumour started by an aesthetically-minded ship enthustiast.

Photographs below are of the Balmoral departing Helsinki on 13 July 2009, taken from the breakwater of Suomenlinna's boat harbour. Click on the image(s) to view full size.

Sunlit Balmoral on Kruunuvuorenselkä, with impressive dark clouds looming in the background.

A little less-sunlit, turning towards Kustaanmiekka strait.

Entering the Kustaanmiekka strait, with more impressive (though less threathening) clouds in the background.