REGENT ISLE: Built 1956 as CARINTHIA for Cunard Steam-Ship Co. Ltd., Liverpool, at John Brown & Co., Clydebank, Scotland. Sold 1968 to 1968 to Fairland Shipping Corp. (Vlasov Group), Monrovia, and renamed FAIRLAND. Transferred 1971 to Fairsea Shipping Corp., renamed FAIRSEA. Converted to cruise ship 1972, along with FAIRWIND started Los Angeles-based Sitmar Cruises. Sitmar Cruises sold to P&O in 1988, renamed FAIR PRINCESS and sailed under Princess Cruises brand. Retired in 1994 and chartered to Regency by P&O for trading as REGENT ISLE. Never traded for Regency, bankruptcy occurred soon before the charter was to commence. The ship remained laid-up as FAIR PRINCESS for some time before being transferred to P&O's Australian operation. Sold in 2000 to China Sea Cruises, Monrovia, renamed CHINA SEA DISCOVERY. Used in several unsucessful ventures in Hong Kong and Taiwan, she is presently laid-up at Kaoshiung.

REGENT JEWEL: Built 1967 as ferry CANGURO VERDE for Canguro S.p.A, Caligiari, at Italcantieri, Castellammare di Stabia, Italy. Sold 1981 to Fayez Trading & Shipping, Jeddah, renamed DURR. Sold 1989 to Strintzis Lines, Piraeus, renamed IONIAN HARMONY. Sold to Ferry Charter St. Thomas Ltd., Nassau, 1990 for intended service between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. Renamed SUN FIESTA and laid-up at Mobile, Alabama. Sold 1992 to A. Lelakis, Piraeus, for conversion to cruise ship REGENT JEWEL at Lelakis-owned Avlis Shipyard, Chalkis, Greece. Entered service 1994 as REGENT JEWEL for Lelakis-owned Regency Cruises, Nassau, following rebuilding, then renamed CALYPSO and chartered to German tour operator Transocean Tours. Charter ended 1998, ship laid-up at Piraeus, Greece and arrested. Auctioned to Louis Cruise Lines, Nassau, 2000, trading on short cruises from Cyprus. Following recent market downturn, reported laid-up at Eleusis, Greece with several other members of the Louis fleet.

REGENT MOON (I): Built 1969 as containership AXEL JOHNSON for Johnson Line, Stockholm, at Wärtsilä, Turku, Finland. Sold to A. Lelakis, Piraeus for conversion to cruise ship for Regency Cruises, 1986. Renamed REGENT MOON. Project suspended, ship was laid-up and then sold in 1989 to Cia. Nav. Panalexandra, Panama, as ALEXANDRA for further trading as a containership. Laid-up. Sold in 1990 to Costa Crociere S.p.A, Naples, for conversion to cruise ship with Italian government subsidies following successful conversion of sister ANNIE JOHNSON to COSTA MARINA. Initally named COSTA AZZURA but entered service in 1992 as COSTA ALLEGRA; reflagged in Libera 1994 and back to Italy 2000. Currently trading with Costa Crociere under that name.

REGENT MOON (II): Built 1980 as ferry VIKING SAGA for Rederi Ab Sally, Mariehamn, as a ferry for Viking Line. Renamed SALLY ALBATROSS 1986, converted to cruise ship 1988. Fire broke out 9 January 1990 during annual overhaul in Stockholm, Sweden, ship virtually destroyed. The ship was dismantled and machinery and parts of the lower decks were used in construction of a new SALLY ALBATROS in 1990 at Finnyards, Rauma, Finland. The ship was scheduled to enter service in 1992 and an agreement was made to charter the ship to Regency Cruises as REGENT MOON. The deal fell through and the ship entered service in 1992 under the name SALLY ALBATROSS, grounded and partially sank 4 March 1994. The ship was salvaged and rebuilt and chartered in 1995 to NCL as LEEWARD by her owners Oy Silja Line who had absorbed Rederi Ab Sally several years earlier. The ship was transferred to Star Cruises as SUPERSTAR TAURUS in 2000 and returned in 2002 to Silja Line and reflagged in Sweden. Currently trading as cruise ship in Baltic area as SILJA OPERA.

REGENT RAINBOW: Built 1957 as SANTA ROSA for Grace Line, New York, at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia. Grace Lines and Prudential Lines merged 1970 to form Prudential-Grace Lines. Laid-up 1971 following cessation of Prudential-Grace Lines passenger service. Sold 1976 to Vintero Corp., New York. Sold 1989 to Coral Cruise Lines Inc., New York, arrived in Greece and renamed PACIFIC SUN, then DIAMOND ISLAND. New owners were apparently connected to Lelakis Group; ownership changed 1993 to Regency Cruises, Nassau, and the ship entered service as REGENT RAINBOW after massive conversion. Sold 1996 to Louis Cruise Lines, Limassol after Regency bankruptcy in late 1995, trading as EMERALD under charter to UK tour operator Thomson Holidays.

REGENT SEA: Built 1957 as GRIPSHOLM for Ab Svenska Amerika-Linjen (Swedish-America Line), Gothenburg, at Ansaldo, Genoa, Italy. Sold 1975 to Mikhail A. Karageorgis, Piraeus, after cessation of SAL passenger operations, renamed NAVARINO. Grounded in Greece 1981. Sold to Sally Shipping GmbH, Bad Schwartau, partially destroyed by fire while under tow to Skaramanga, Greece for repairs. Floating drydock in which the ship lay at Skaramanga took a list and the ship was declared a total loss. Despite this the ship was salvaged, however Sally withdrew from purchase. Sold to Multiship Italia, SrL, Rome, laid-up at La Spezia, Italy, and renamed SMANTHA in 1983. Sold to A. Lelakis, Piraeus in 1984, repaired and renamed REGENT SEA, becoming first Regency ship in 1985. Reflagged in Panama 1987 and Bahamas 1990. Operated for Regency until bankruptcy in 1995. Laid up at Tampa, Florida as SEA following bankruptcy. Sold for scrapping in South Asia May 2001. Sank off South Africa while under tow to scrappers 11 July 2001.

REGENT SKY: Ordered 1979 as STENA POLONICA for Stena Line as passenger-car ferry from Stocznia Gdanska im Lenina, Gdansk, Poland. Partially completed, order cancelled in 1986 after problems at shipyard. Launched to clear slipway and laid-up. Sold 1990 to A. Lelakis, Piraeus, for conversion to cruise ship REGENT SKY. Never completed, remains at Lelakis-owned Avlis Shipyard at Chalkis, Greece. The ship has been seized by the National Bank of Greece and is currently for sale, minus engines which were apparently stolen by Lelakis before the ship was seized.

REGENT SPIRIT: Built 1962 as ANNA NERY for Cia Nacional de Navegacao Costeria, Rio de Janeiro. Sold 1978 to Kavounides Shipping Co. SA Ltd. (K-Lines), Piraeus renamed DANAOS, the CONSTELLATION. Laid-up at Eleusis. Cruising in Mediterranean from 1982. Laid-up 1986 after bankruptcy of K-Lines. Sold 1992 to A. Lelakis, Piraeus, renamed MORNING STAR for service in the Pacific along with ROYAL PACIFIC. Following the sinking of the latter vessel transferred to Regency Cruises and renamed REGENT SPIRIT after refurbishment at Lelakis-owned Avlis Shipyard. Laid-up following bankruptcy. Sold 1996 to Salamis Lines, Limassol, and renamed SALAMIS GLORY, trading on short cruises from Cyprus. Following recent market downturn, reported laid-up at Eleusis.

REGENT STAR: Built 1957 as STATENDAM for Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij (Holland-America Line), Rotterdam. Reflagged in Netherlands Antilles 1973. Sold 1982 to Paquet French Cruises, Panama, renamed RHAPSODY. Sold to A. Lelakis, Piraeus in 1986, first voyage as REGENT STAR in 1987 following re-engining. Operated for Regency until bankruptcy in 1995. Laid-up at Eleusis, Greece as SEA HARMONY following Regency bankruptcy, under the ownership of Perosea Shipping. EXA International/Cruiseshares planned to make her their first ship, ROMANCE I, however the deal fell through (probably at least in part due to the poor condition of the ship) and the ship remains laid-up at Eleusis in poor condition. The ship is reported to be listing dangerously and may be in danger of sinking.

REGENT SUN (I): Built 1969 as containership ANNIE JOHNSON for Johnson Line Ab, Stockholm, at Wärtsilä, Turku, Finland. Sold to Universal Glow Inc., Limassol for conversion to cruise ship for Regency, 1986; renamed REGENT SUN. Subsequently renamed SEA VENTURE. Sold to Navyclub Italia Srl, Naples, in 1988 and renamed ITALIA, to be converted to cruise ship at T. Mariotti yard, Genoa, Italy with Italian government subsidies. Later that year project taken over by Costa Crociere S.p.A., Naples. Entered service 1990 as COSTA MARINA; reflagged in Liberia 1994 and back to Italy 2000. Currently trading for Costa Crociere under that name.

REGENT SUN (II): Built 1964 as SHALOM for Zim Israel Navigation Co. Ltd., Haifa, at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France. Haifa-New York service. Sold to Hanseatic Schiffahrts GmbH (Deutsch Atlantik Schiffahrts GmbH), Hamburg, 1967. Renamed HANSEATIC. Hamburg-New York service and cruising. Cruising only from 1969. Sold to Home Lines Inc., Panama, 1973. Renamed DORIC. Sold to Royal Cruise Line Ltd., Piraeus, 1981. Reconstructed at Perama and Neorion, Greece. Entered RCL service 1982. Sold 1988 to Regency Cruises, Nassau; rgistered owners Regsun Holdings Ltd., Nassau. Renamed REGENT SUN. Laid-up as SUN following Regency bankruptcy 1995. Sold for scrapping in South Asia, sank off South Africa under tow to scrappers 25 July 2001.

28 Jun 2003 - The above has been updated to contains additional detail and some corrections in accuracy. It has been rewritten to match the updated format of my Royal and Royal Viking histories.

[ 06-28-2003: Message edited by: cruiseny ]

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Originally posted by cruiseny:

REGENT SEA: Built 1957 as GRIPSHOLM for Swedish-America Line. Sold 1975 to Karaegoris Lines after cessation of SAL passenger operations, renamed NAVARINO. Grounded in Greece 1981. Partially destroyed by fire while under tow to Skaramanga (anyone know where that is?) for repairs. Floating drydock in which the ship lay at Skaramanga took a list and the ship was declared a total loss. Despite this the ship was salvaged and laid-up at La Spezia (Italy) and renamed SMANTHA in 1983. Sold to A. Lelakis in 1984, repaired and renamed REGENT SEA, becoming first Regency ship in 1985. Operated for Regency until bankruptcy in 1995. Laid up at Tampa, Florida as SEA following bankruptcy. Sold for scrapping in India/Pakistan May 2001. Sank off South Africa while under tow to scrappers 11 July 2001.

If you see any errors please point them out... Dates, names, etc. are compiled from all manner of different sources and it is impossible to verify all of them.[/QB]

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An excellent story Cruiseny ! just few precisations about the former Regent Sea.

The Navarino was sold in 1981 to Commodore Cruise Lines, who planned to use her in Miami- Caribbean service. But just before the sale was finalized the Navarino took on a 35- degree list when she was docked a Skaramanga ( Greece ) and was considered a complete loss. In May 1982 she was repaired. In 1983 the ship was acquired by Multiship Italia, who renamed her " Samantha ", registering her under the Italian Flag in the maritime district of Rome !!! ( quiete ridicolous, Rome isn't on the sea, but, for a brief period also the Achille Lauro was registered there )... The Samantha was laid up at Eleusis Shipyards Docks n. 3, not at La Spezia.

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Originally posted by Italian Cruiser:
just few precisations about the former Regent Sea.

The Navarino was sold in 1981 to Commodore Cruise Lines, who planned to use her in Miami- Caribbean service. But just before the sale was finalized the Navarino took on a 35- degree list when she was docked a Skaramanga ( Greece ) and was considered a complete loss. In May 1982 she was repaired. In 1983 the ship was acquired by Multiship Italia, who renamed her " Samantha ", registering her under the Italian Flag in the maritime district of Rome !!! ( quiete ridicolous, Rome isn't on the sea, but, for a brief period also the Achille Lauro was registered there )... The Samantha was laid up at Eleusis Shipyards Docks n. 3, not at La Spezia.

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Interesting. First time I've run across the bit about Commodore.

Re: Registering in Rome - early Sitmar ships were registered there too.

Lelakis had no interests in the original three Regency ships or the proposed coversions.

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Originally posted by SoBe Tim:
Just an FYI...Antonio Lelakis did not come into the picture until '92 or '93, when he took control of the company. And it was after his very expensive and debt laden takeover that the company started to fail.

Lelakis had no interests in the original three Regency ships or the proposed coversions.

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Interesting.

I took my information from the 1991 edition of Kludas' GREAT PASSENGER SHIPS.

For example, from the listing of REGENT SEA:

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1984 Sold to Antonios Lelakis, Piraeus. Oct 13: Arrived at Piraeus for repairs by Eleusis yard, Perama. Renamed Regent Sea.

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Originally posted by Patrick:
cruiseny, you did an excellent job ! Very well reserched and put together.

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Thanks .

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Just two details which I can add:

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On the first one, I have revised the text to clarify that she continued through the Regency bankruptcy.

The REGENT SEA history has been up-dated with additional information I left out the first time around, about being chartered. I did not know the reason for the cancellation of the charter though.

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The technical management during this period was provided by Passat Shipmanagement (Sovcomflot)

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With a name like that, I would have thought it was a division of Volkswagen .

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Originally posted by DAMBROSI:
I had sailed the REGENT RAINBOW about 2-4 times before the company went under. What a shame too. Just like Premier, they had a great product.

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True, but I think most of the public would easily prefer Carnival or RCI. New ships, ugly or not, bring in a lot of passengers. Regency was even going that route (well, sort of).

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Originally posted by cruiseny:

Interesting. First time I've run across the bit about Commodore.

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Also in 1993, the already chartered Pacific Star (ex-Lion Queen) was brought to Greece for conversion as Regent Jewel. She was insted sold to Sun Fiesta Cruises as Sun Fiesta to replace their Sun Fiesta which became the Regent Jewel. Complicated?

Lelakis also owned several other ships:
the fire damaged Scandinavian Sea (1984, resold)
Empress/Royal Pacific (1989-92, sunk)
Stefan (ex-Stefan Batory) (1988-2000, scrapped)
Tropic Star/Aegean Star (1990-still Lelakis controlled as Atlantis)

Also, when Regent went bankrupt, it was found that Regent Star and Regent Rainbow have been leased or sold in 1990 to Kawasaki Leasing International and chartered back for 5 years.

PASSAT shipmanagement it is not related with SOVCOMFLOT,because they are quite distinct ship management companies.
Both have offices in Cyprus, but the main difference is related with the ships because Passat usually it is the management company for Transocean Tours, which operates as an example Passat's cruise ships ASTOR and ASTORIA, which was also management company for the CALYPSO under the same company, furthermore in the past they were also intended to be managers for the new GRIPSHOLM, initially the former REGENT SEA which never became reality, and was replaced by the SAGAFJORD as GRIPSHOLM....
Passat it is an old shipmanagement company and her origins are reported to the old times of old RDA German Republic were initially managers for well known German Communist Block passenger ships like he VOLKERFREUNDSCHAFT, FRITZ HECKERT among others...
So, concerning SOVCOMFLOT they were the old representative owners acting on behalf directly for BLASCO Shipping Company cruise liners ASTOR, and MARKSIM GORKIY, and simply Passat was the managing company for the first vessel since the days that she began cruising forthe former SOVIET UNION as FEDOR DOSTOEVSKIY ...currently they still own these vessels but their management activities are now on focus to cargo and general merchant type vessels...

PASSAT presently acts as management company for TRANSOCEAN TOURS ASTOR and ASTORIA,

SOVCOMFLOT- MAXIM GORKY only...

Best Regards from a Regency Cruises Ships fan

Dimas Almada