According to AIS data on the VesselFinder site, the ship has been renamed Mykonos Magic.
Magica is one of two further Costa ships leaving the fleet, as Carnival Corp. & plc signaled in December.
As was the case with the other seven purchases, no information on the price paid to Carnival for the 102,700gt ship, built in 2004, has been made known.
Asset play
Iliopoulos, boss of Greece’s Seajets, has since sold three of the cruise ships as asset play seems to be the motive behind the Greek ferry operator’s decision to buy seven cruise ships over a seven month period, June 2020 to early 2021.
Two ships scrapped
Two of the seven were sold for scrap in India: 63,800gt Columbus and 46,000gt Magellan, (renamed Mage) built 1985, two former CMV cruise ships Iliopoulos acquired at auction, for $5.3m and $3.4m respectively. VesselsValue had estimated Columbus had a scrap value of $13.5m.
In addition to Costa Magica, Iliopoulos has bought other cruise ships from Carnival with the most recent buy being described as ‘a jewel.' She has 1,359 cabins that accommodate up to 4,000 passengers and about 1,000 crew and is expected to sail in the East Mediterranean.
Majesty of the Seas
Another purchase, Royal Caribbean’s 74,100gt Majesty of the Seas, built 1992, was renamed Majesty, and is now part of the Eaglepower Shipping fleet, an Iliopoulos-linked company based in Cyprus.
The 55,900gt Pacific Aria, built 1994, was renamed Aegean Goddess and was acquired from Carnival subsidiary P&O Cruises Australia for a reported $8m. Oceana, 77,500gt built 2000, was purchased for a reported $21m and renamed Queen of the Seas, while no price has been disclosed for Holland America Line’s Veendam, 57,100gt, built 1996, and renamed Aegean Majesty and Maasdam, 55,600gt, built 1993, and now Aegean Myth.
All are laid up in Greek waters.
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