Transocean Tours

Transocean Tours

Company type	Private
Industry	Cruise line
Founded	1954
Defunct	20 July 2020
Fate	Entered administration; ceased operations
Headquarters	Bremen , Germany
Area served	Germany, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia
Products	Ocean cruises, River cruises
Parent	Cruise & Maritime Voyages (until 2020)

Transocean Tours was a German-based cruise line that operated ocean-going cruise ships primarily targeting the German and British markets, alongside river cruises within Germany. Established in 1954, the company commenced its cruise operations in 1972 by chartering vessels from the Soviet Union's Baltic Shipping Company. Both Transocean Tours and its UK parent company, Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), entered administration on 20 July 2020.

Early Development

Founded in West Germany in 1954, Transocean Tours Turistik became the West German representative for the Soviet-based Baltic Shipping Company in 1967, promoting cruises on ships such as and MS Estonia. Starting in 1972, it chartered Estonia to serve exclusively the German cruise market. Over time, the fleet expanded to include various vessels—both ocean and river cruise ships—chartered from Baltic and Black Sea Shipping Companies. Until the 1990s, these vessels retained their original Soviet funnel designs. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Transocean diversified its charters, beginning with MS Calypso in 1994, and adopted a white and blue livery reflecting its corporate identity.

Developments from 1997 Onwards

Between 1997 and 2001, Transocean’s fleet was composed of two ships: an ocean-going vessel and the river cruise ship MS Moldavia. MS Ukraina rejoined the fleet in 2001, followed by a closely related vessel in 2002. By 2005, additional river cruise ships had been incorporated. In 2006, the company chartered a ship for the British market which was replaced by another vessel in 2008.

In 2008, Transocean declared that it would conclude its charter of Astoria by 2009; this ship was subsequently sold to Saga Cruises and renamed Saga Pearl II. On 4 September 2010, Transocean entered a restructuring process comparable to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. Following a period of uncertainty, it was acquired by South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd. in early 2014 and continued operations as CMV’s German branch under the name Transocean Cruises.

In addition to operating its own vessel Astor, Transocean offered cruises aboard CMV ships like Magellan and Columbus, as well as river cruise vessels including Bellejour, Belvedere, and Sans Souci.

On 7 March 2018, CMV acquired Pacific Eden from P&O Cruises Australia, intending to deploy her under the Transocean brand for Northern and Western European summer cruises and Australian winter itineraries as a replacement for Astor. Renamed Vasco da Gama on 9 June 2019, she joined the fleet in April of that year.

Transocean had planned to take delivery of Pacific Aria from P&O Cruises Australia in May 2021 with plans to rename her Ida Pfeiffer, honoring the Austrian explorer.

On 15 July 2020, Sky News reported that CMV was facing insolvency issues and sought financial support from VGO Capital Management after a failed financing attempt involving private equity firm Novalpina Capital due to Barclays declining a government-backed loan.

Unable to secure necessary funding, both Transocean Tours and CMV entered administration on 20 July 2020; all operations were halted immediately and sales offices were closed.

Fleet

Ship	Built	Service Period	Chartered From	Tonnage	Flag	Remarks	Image
MS Alexandr Pushkin/MS Marco Polo	1965	1979–1985 / 2008–2010	Baltic Shipping Company / Far Eastern Shipping Company, Global Maritime	Template:GRT	Leningrad, Template:Country data Soviet Union / Bahamas	Operated under Cruise & Maritime Voyages until 2020; dismantled at Alang in 2021.
MS Calypso	1967	1994–2000	Unknown	Template:GRT	Bahamas	Subsequently owned by Louis Cruises; scrapped late in 2013.
MS Gripsholm	1965	1996–1997	Norwegian American Line	Template:GRT	Bahamas	Chartered for six months; later sold to Saga Cruises; scrapped in 2009.
MS Astoria	1981	2002–2009	Club Cruise	Template:GRT	Bahamas	Re-entered service as MS Saga Pearl II with Saga Cruises in 2009.
MS Arielle	1970	2006–2008	Louis Cruises	Template:GRT	Bahamas	Returned to Louis Cruises early in 2008; scrapped at Alang in 2015.
MS Astor	1987	2001–2020	Astor Shipping / Premicon	Template:GRT	Bahamas	Scrapped at Aliağa in 2020.
Vasco da Gama	1992	2019–2020	N/A	55,451 GT	Bahamas	Transferred from P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Eden to CMV for use under Transocean brand; operated cruises across Europe and Australia.
Magellan	1985	until 2020	N/A	46,052 GT	Bahamas	Sold to Seajets after CMV's closure; scrapped as Mages at Alang in India in 2021.
Columbus	1989	until 2020	N/A	63,500 GT	Bahamas	Sold for dismantling at Alang under the name Colus in 2021.
Ida Pfeiffer	1994	Planned for service in 2021 (never entered service)	N/A	55,451 GT	N/A	Purchased by CMV in November 2019; scheduled to join Transocean fleet May 2021 but did not enter operation.

External links

• Official site