MS Marco Polo
MS Marco Polo in Bergen in Cruise & Maritime Voyages colours, 2010.
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| Builder: | VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft, Wismar, East Germany |
| Yard number: | 126 |
| Launched: | 26 April 1964 |
| Acquired: | 14 August 1965 |
| In service: | August 1965 |
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| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
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| Class and type: | Ivan Franko-class passenger ship → Ocean liner |
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| Length: | 176.28 m (578.35 ft) |
| Beam: | 23.55 m (77.26 ft) |
| Draught: | 8.20 m (26.90 ft) |
| Depth: | 13.50 m (44.29 ft) |
| Ice class: | 1C passenger ship |
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| Propulsion: | Two shafts; fixed pitch propellers |
| Speed: | 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) |
| Capacity: | 650 passengers with berths (different sources give different figures) + 500 deck passengers |
| Crew: | 220 |
| General characteristics (currently) | |
| Type: | Cruise Ship |
| Tonnage: | 22,080 GT |
| Speed: | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) |
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| Crew: | 356 |
| Notes: | Otherwise same as built |
MS Marco Polo is a cruise ship owned by the Global Maritime Group under charter to UK-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages, having been previously operated by Transocean Tours, Germany. She was built as an ocean liner in 1965 by Mathias-Thesen Werft, East Germany as Aleksandr Pushkin for the Soviet Union's Baltic Shipping Company. After major alterations and additions, the ship sailed as Marco Polo for Orient Lines from 1993 to 2008.
The Aleksandr Pushkin was constructed at VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft in Wismar, East Germany. She was the second ship of the Ivan Franko class (also referred to as "poet" or "writer" class), named after the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The construction of this class featured some notable differences from contemporary ships built in the west. Amongst other things they offered cabins for six people and had three taps in the bathrooms - for hot, cold and sea water - Both of these features had long since been abandoned in western liners. The ships also featured certain forward-looking features, such as all outside accommodation for both passengers and the crew, and an indoor/outdoor swimming pool with a sliding glass roof. To enable the ships to navigate through broken ice, they were constructed with greater hull strength and stability than usual in passenger ships of this size. The Ivan Franko-class ships were also built with the use as a troopship in mind. Due to this they had unusually large provision and storage areas, enabling a cruising range of over 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km). As a more visible sign of potential military use, the ships were equipped with unusually powerful deck lifting gear, apparently to be able to transport armoured vehicles on board. As built, the ship carried between 650-766 passengers in two classes, with different sources providing different figures. Additionally there were provisions for 500 cabinless passengers.
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