MS Enchanted Capri

Career
Name:	1975-1996: Azerbaihzan 1996-1997: Arkadia 1997-1998: Island Holiday 1998-present: Enchanted Capri
Owner:	1975-1996: Black Sea Shipping Company 1996-1997: Blasco 1997-1998: SeaEscape 1998-2003: Commodore Holding Ltd. 2005-2007: Faraglioni Ltd. 2007-present: Demar Instaladora y Constructora, S.A. de C.V.
Operator:	1998-2003: Commodore Cruise Line 2005-2007: International Shipping Partners Inc. (ISP) 2007-present: Demar Instaladora y Constructora, S.A. de C.V.
Port of registry:	Ciudad del Carmen Campeche, Mexico
Builder:	Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard, Turku, Finland
Laid down:	1974
Launched:	1975
Completed:	1976
In service:	1976
Status:	Currently a hotel ship in the Mexican Gulf
General characteristics (as of 1998)
Class and type:	Belorussiya class cruise ship
Tonnage:	15409 GRT
Displacement:	11319
Length:	515 feet
Beam:	72 feet
Draught:	21 feet
Depth:	72 feet
Installed power:	2 × Wärtsilä S.E.M.T Pielstick 18 PC 2-2V,2 X 9000BHP
Propulsion:	2 x KAMEWA CPP W/4 Blades
Speed:	20 knots
Capacity:	745 passengers
Crew:	155
Notes:	248 rooms
General characteristics (currently)
Class and type:	Hotel Ship
Tonnage:	15410 GRT, 6401 NT
Displacement:	11319 tons
Length:	157 M
Beam:	21.83 M
Draught:	6.2 M
Depth:	72 feet
Installed power:	2 x Wärtilä S.E.M.T Pielstick 18 PC 2-2V,2 X 9000BHP
Propulsion:	2 x KAMEWA CPP W/4 Blades
Speed:	20 knots
Capacity:	745 passengers
Crew:	155
Notes:	248 rooms

MS Enchanted Capri is a Belorussiya class cruise ship owned by Demar, Mexico and operated as a hotel vessel for oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. She was built in 1975 at Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard in Turku, Finland as the 15,409 GRT MS Azerbaihzan for the Soviet Union-based Black Sea Shipping Company. She has also sailed under the names MS Arkadia and MS Island Holiday.

History

The Azerbaihzan was built in 1975 as the third ship of the five Belorussiya class cruise vessels ordered by the Soviet Union from the Wärtsilä shipyard in Turku, Finland. She underwent refurbishments in 1984 in Bremerhaven, Germany and in 1997 in Freeport, Grand Bahama. In 1996, the vessel was acquired by Blasco, UK and renamed Arkadia.

The ship was chartered by SeaEscape, Florida and renamed Island Holiday.

On June 4, 1998, Commodore Cruise Line chartered the vessel, renamed her Enchanted Capri and started 2 and 5 day cruises from New Orleans, LA with this newly refurbished cruise ship whose main emphasis was on gaming. With 248 cabins, including eight suites, and eight passenger decks, the Enchanted Capri offered full cruise amenities such as swimming pools, restaurants, gift shops, bars, lounges, theater, disco, gym, sauna, beauty salon, and complete hospital facilities. Commodore Holdings Limited, the parent company to Commodore Cruise Line, and Casino America, Inc. announced that they had executed a definitive agreement under which Casino America would manage the casino operations aboard this ship. The onboard casino, with slots and a variety of table games, was under the Isle of Capri Casinos banner.

The Enchanted Capri, is 512 feet long and 72 feet wide, has a draft of 21 feet and cruising speed of more than 20 knots, has a capacity for 750 passengers and 170 crew members.

Following Commodore's bankruptcy on January 11, 2001, the Capri made news when she was arrested in New Orleans by the International Transport Workers' Federation on behalf of the crew, who were owed $500,000 in back wages. More than 230 crew stranded on the passenger vessel were sent home to forty different countries in the biggest repatriation operation staged by the ITWF.

The Enchanted Capri was laid up, her owners chartered her to the Mexican company Demar Instaladora y Constructora in 2003 and refurbished the vessel in 2005 to bring her up to the latest SOLAS standards.

At the end of 2007 the Enchanted Capri was totally owned by the Mexican company Demar Instaladora y Constructora.

External links

• Enchanted Capri 1998 Fact Sheet
• ISP Current Enchanted Capri info
• Enchanted Capri's General Arrangement
• Demar Instaladora y Constructora MEXICO