Newly formed Marshall Islands-registered Beta Marine has become the new owner of a cruise ship that Miami-based Carnival Corp earmarked for disposal in June last year.
S&P Global’s International Ships Register shows the 42,300-gt AIDAvita (built 2002), a vessel that has been operated by Carnival’s Aida Cruises brand throughout its career, was recently handed over to Beta Marine in the Estonian port of Tallinn.
The ship has been renamed Avitak and reflagged in Liberia.
Beta Marine is believed by cruise industry observers to be a special purpose vessel-owning entity, but it is still unclear who is behind it.
TradeWinds understands that a Turkish crewing agency has been sourcing a new crew for the Avitak.
The AIDAvita is the third of four smaller cruise ships that Carnival Corp has been culling from the AIDA fleet. All of the brand’s remaining 11 ships are more than double their size.
The company sold the 38,600-gt AIDAcara (built 1996) in June 2021 to Russian cruise start-up Aquilon Shipping, which renamed it the Astoria Grande. Last July, the ship’s ownership was transferred to Goodwin Shipping of Seychelles, although it has continued to operate in the Black Sea.
In January 2022, the brand sold the 48,100-gt AIDAmira (built 1999) to UK-based Ambassador Cruise Line.
A year later, the company announced that the 42,300-gt Aidaaura (built 2003) would leave the AIDA fleet in September 2023.
The AIDAaura is the only vessel in this quartet of cruise ships that returned to service for Aida in the post-pandemic period.
