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Seajets boss bags Costa Magica

Costa Magica, the eighth cruise ship purchased by Greek high-speed ferry operator Marios Iliopoulos since 2020, was delivered in the Italian port of Brindisi on Wednesday.

David Glass, Greece Correspondent

February 9, 2023

2 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

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.

 

About the Author

David Glass

Greece Correspondent

An Australian with over 40 years experience as a journalist and foreign correspondent specialising in political and economic issues, David has lived in Greece for over 30 years and was editor of English language publications for Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini in the 1970s before moving into the Akti Miaouli and reporting on Greek and international shipping.

Managing editor of Naftiliaki Greek Shipping Review and Newsfront Greek Shipping Intelligence, David has been Greek editor for Seatrade for over 25 years.

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