MV Logos Hope is operated by the German charitable organisation GBA Ships e.V.

Gute Bücher für Alle

Gute Bücher für Alle is a German charity, which operates floating bookshops. It is best known as the owner of the MV Doulos, the world's oldest active ocean-faring passenger ship....

 As the fourth ship operated by the organisation, she follows in the line of MV Logos, the wrecked hulk of which now sits on a rock shelf on the Chilean coast, MV Logos II

MV Logos II

The MV Logos II was a ship built in Spain, 1968, which was purchased in 1989 by Educational Book Exhibits Ltd., a private, non-profit, charitable organisation registered in the UK. MV Logos II was operated on behalf of EBE by GBA Ships, a second private, non-profit, charitable organisation...

which was retired in the fall of 2008 and which Logos Hope was designed to replace, and MV Doulos

MV Doulos

The MV Doulos Phos was the world's oldest active ocean-faring passenger ship. She is now owned by Mr. Eric Saw, Director and Chief Executive of BizNaz Resources International Pte Ltd in Singapore. She was previously owned by the German charity Gute Bücher für Alle , and was used as a floating ...

which was sold to a Singaporean interest in 2009.

Twice as big as any previous ship operated by the organisation, the ship was completely refitted over a period of 5 years. Logos Hope provides a better quality of life for crew as well as a wider range of activities for visitors and guests. The newly created Logos Hope Experience (which is situated on a deck that was installed into the original ferry’s car area) holds up to 800 visitors at any time, with capacity to host an additional 700 in the Hope Theatre and Logos Lounge. This publicly accessible deck offers visitors an introduction to the vessel and the organisation, a book fair featuring around 7,000 different titles, a visual presentation called the Journey of Life and the International Cafe.

The all volunteer crew and staff of 400 people, represent around 50 different countries. Unlike the crew during her original use as a car ferry

RORO

Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...

, crew and staff normally join the organisation to live on board for two years.

Schedule

Logos Hope generally visits ports for two weeks and is continually sailing from port to port year round. Since the launch into active service in February 2009, she has been in several regions: Northern Europe, the Caribbean, West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and most recently south Asia. Future schedule information is available on the website.

History

In 1973 the ship was commissioned as the car ferry Gustav Vasa running between Malmö

Malmö

Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...

 (Sweden) and Travemünde

Travemünde

Travemünde is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the Danes subsequently strengthened it. It became a town in 1317 and in...

(Germany), a route she ran for 10 years. In April 1983 she was sold to the Faroese ferry company Smyril Line and renamed Norröna. Sailing from Tórshavn, the Faroese capital, to Lerwick (Shetland Islands), Bergen (Norway), Hanstholm (Denmark) and Seyðisfjörður (Iceland) each summer, she was often chartered in the winter to cover other operators’ overhaul schedules. When Smyril Line delivered a new Norröna in 2003, the old vessel became Norröna I and was put up for sale. After much deliberation, inspection and prayer, the current owners purchased the vessel in March 2004.