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February 12th 1966: Launched.
June 10th 1966: Delivered to Belgian Marine Administration’s (R..M.T.), being the last conventional passenger boat to be built for the Ostend service.
June 14th 1966: Made her inaugural trip to Dover. Nicknamed locally in Dover as the “Racing Greyhound”
Roy Thornton Collection
November 1970: Belgian Marine joined the Sealink consortium. Trading as Sealink
© Brian Fisher
November 1st 1971: Belgian Marine became the Belgian Maritime Transport Authority - Regie voor Maritiem Transport (RMT).
Stéphane Poulain Collection
April 4th 1982: Collided with a breakwater in Dover but suffered only minor damage and was able to continue in service.
 
Roy Thornton Collection
July 1984: Sealink UK Ltd had been de-nationalised and purchased by the Bermuda-based Sea Containers the new owners immediately began a general reappraisal of all their services. (including its intention of taking on 50% of all the traffic on the Dover-Ostend route.
October 25th 1985: Belgians entered into negotiations with Townsend Thoresen and an agreement was concluded.
  
Stéphane Poulain Collection (left and middle) and © Brian Fisher (right)
October 1987: The agreement with Townsend Thoresen (The European Ferries Group) was duly passed on to P&O European Ferries and was due to end in December 1990: The Ostend ships all received the Townsend Thoresen orange colours and carried their trading name.
May 3rd 1987: Whilst entering Ostend, high winds caused her to collide with the pier. Rescued by tugs and was able to sail to Dover the following day.
Roy Thornton Collection
March 1988: Sold to Sea Venture Cruises (Registered as A.N.K. Marine Enterprise Inc., Lebannon) March 20th 1988: Renamed TROPICANA.
April 1st 1988: Left Ostend for Perama where she would be rebuilt for cruising purposes.
1988: Converted to a cruising/casino ship at Perama, Piraeus. Greece
 
Roy Thornton Collection
July 1988: Used for day cruising from Miami.
1989: Cruising from either Miami or Port Everglades.
Roy Thornton Collection
February 14th 1995: Placed back in service when it reinitiated its cruise-to-nowhere operations.
April 1995: Used in day-cruising from Miami plus occasional trips between Miami and Freeport.
1996: Plans that she was to become a floating casino from New York fell through and she was laid - up in Brooklyn until 1999 when she was initially floated to Little Creek, South Carolina then Charleston , South Carolina for further lay - up.
December 2002: She was then laid up at Freeport, Bahamas.
Roy Thornton Collection
February 14th 1995: Placed back in service when it reinitiated its cruise-to-nowhere operations.
April 1995: Used in day-cruising from Miami plus occasional trips between Miami and Freeport.
1996: Plans that she was to become a floating casino from New York fell through and she was laid - up in Brooklyn until 1999 when she was initially floated to Little Creek, South Carolina then Charleston , South Carolina for further lay - up.
December 2002: She was then laid up at Freeport, Bahamas.
 
© Mikael "Foggy" Söderholm
November 2nd 2006: Took on bunkers at Gibraltar following a crossing from Freeport en route for breaking at Alang,
India.
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Technical Data
History
