The mother company of VIVA Cruises, the Scylla Group based in Baar (Switzerland), will take over the expedition ship MS “SEAVENTURE” on November 1, 2020. From spring 2021, the ship will be on route for VIVA Cruises in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. The MS “SEAVENTURE” is the former MS “BREMEN” of the Hamburg shipping company Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
Originally, it was planned that the ship would start its new “life” as MS “SEAVENTURE” with the US provider Polar Latitudes during the Antarctic season 2021/22. However, since Polar Latitudes only offers programs in Antarctica and wants to maintain this, an alternative had to be sought for the summer months of 2021 onwards. This has been found now with VIVA Cruises. Trips are planned from Bremerhaven to the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
The Düsseldorf-based organiser VIVA Cruises has been on the market since 2018 as the in-house organiser of the renowned Swiss shipping company Scylla AG. The fleet of the young river cruise company comprises ten ships, which sail rivers within Europe with a maximum of 176 guests on board.
As a small four-star expedition ship, the “SEAVENTURE” has 82 cabins and suites for a maximum of 164 guests. The ship is designed for unique itineraries and its size allows the ship to sail to remote ports. Smaller rivers can be navigated and last but not least the small ship is extremely manoeuvrable. In this way, the course can be changed in the short term to observe animals and nature. Twelve Zodiacs and hand-picked experts will be on board. This allows guests to explore new areas and experience nature up close.
The passenger ship was built in 1990 by Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. After its handover on 29 October 1990, the ship was christened as “Frontier Spirit”. From the beginning of 1991, several Antarctic cruises were undertaken for Seaquest Cruises. The ship was rebuilt at the end of 1993 for operation at Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and renamed “Bremen”. After the first three years in the charter contract, “Bremen” was acquired for sale from April 1996 and managed and operated on its own until it was sold to Scylla AG.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
