The MV Bremerhaven was a cruise ship

Cruise ship

A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

 originally built in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in 1960 for ferry services. She served under different guises and owners until she was scrapped in 2008.

History

Bremerhaven was launched on April 2, 1960 for Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

-Helgoland ferry route under the ownership of Argo Reedereis. In 1965 Bremerhaven partially sank in shallow waters, subsequently being raised and made seaworthy. However, her original owners placed her on the market, selling her to the Sun Lines in 1965. Sun Lines had the newly renamed Stella Maris II heavily rebuilt, changing her superstructure practically entirely and replacing her tall, slim funnel that was placed amidships with a wider, shorter funnel placed aft

Aft

Aft, in naval terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning, towards the stern of the ship, when the frame of reference is within the ship. Example: "Able Seaman Smith; lay aft!". Or; "What's happening aft?"...

. Throughout her long career with Sun Lines Stella Maris II served in the Mediterranean, Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and Amazon

Amazon Basin

The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...

. In 1996 Sun Lines merged with the Epirotiki. After more than 30 years of service with Sun Lines Stella Maris II was sold to Viking Cruises in 1998. Under this new ownership she became the Viking Bordeaux. She operated under this name until 2004 when she was laid up. During her lay up in the Netherlands the ship was renamed Bordeaux. Shortly thereafter the ship was purchased by Indian Ocean Cruises, who expensively refitted and renamed her the Madagascar. After a very short amount of cruises from Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 this new venture failed as she was not fit for the rough waters of the area. Madagascar was docked in Durban uneventfully for three years. She was then purchased to become the Razzmatazz of Razzmatazz Ocean Cruises. This venture fell through, and the ship was towed to scrapyards at Alang in India and broken up in August 2008.