MS Southward

MS Southward

MS Southward leaving the port of Miami, 1981
History
Name	MS Southward (1971–1995) Seawing (1995–2005) Perla (2005–2008) The Aegean Pearl (2008–2010) Rio (2010–2012) Venus (2012–2013)
Operator	Norwegian Cruise Line (1971–1994) Airtours (1994–2004) Louis Cruise Lines (2004–2005) Pearl Navigation, Ltd. (2008–2009) Eagles Shipholding SA (2010–2011) Mediterranean Cruises, Ltd.
Port of registry	1971–1987: Oslo, Norway 1987–2005: Nassau, Bahamas 2005–2010: Piraeus, Greece 2010–2013: Valletta, Malta 2013: Lomé, Togo
Ordered	1971
Builder	Cantiere navale di Riva Trigoso
Yard number	288
Launched	June 5, 1971
Christened	November 30, 1971
Completed	1971
Maiden voyage	November 30, 1971
In service	1971
Out of service	2013
Identification	IMO number: 7111078
Fate	Sold for scrap in 2013
General characteristics
Tonnage	16,710 GRT
Length	536 ft (163 m)
Beam	75 ft (23 m)
Decks	8
Installed power	Fyra Fiat SGM10 Diesel
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity	802
Crew	302

MS Southward was a cruise ship owned by Norwegian Cruise Line, operated between 1971 and 1994, and later on to other cruise liners until she ended operation in 2013.

History

Southward was NCL's fourth cruise ship, the others being Sunward (1966), Starward (1968), and Skyward (1969). Initially, she was operated on Caribbean cruises out of Miami. In 1987 however, she was dispatched to the west coast of the United States to begin operating out of Los Angeles (San Pedro) on three and four-night cruises to Catalina Island, San Diego and Ensenada, BC, Mexico. As a result of this move Norwegian Caribbean Line changed its name to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in late 1987.

By 1994, she was sold off to Sun Cruises, a cruise division of the UK-based travel company Airtours, and renamed Seawing. She cruised seven-nights through the Mediterranean during the spring/summer season and the Far East in the winter season. Seawing later on ran fourteen, sixteen, and thirty-night cruises from 2002 and 2003.

From 2004 she joined the Louis Cruise Lines fleet, under the name of Perla. In 2005 she operated cruises out of Piraeus to the Greek Islands and Turkey, after a winter in the Far East. In May 2008, she was chartered to Golden Sun Cruises (a Greece-based company) and renamed The Aegean Pearl, operating between three and four nights cruises from Piraeus. After the chartered ended with Golden Sun Cruises in 2009, she returned to Louis Cruises with her name remaining unchanged.

In 2010, she was transferred to Rio Cruises and renamed Rio and again in 2012 sold off to Venus Cruise Lines and renamed Venus. She was scrapped in 2013.