Marella Celebration, the former cruise ship of Marella Cruises which the company had placed into long term lay-up has reportedly been sold for scrap.
According to the Financial Times, Marella Celebration’s most recent captain, Alex Downes, handed over the ship last month to a Turkish company that had bought it for scrap.
“It was sold so there was no point in maintaining anything except to the minimum legal standards . . . there were 40 of us [on board], where there are normally 600 crew members and 1,500 passengers,” he told the Financial Times.
Marella Celebration is currently anchored in Elefsis Bay, just outside of Athens, where the ship has been located since departing Barcelona at the beginning of June. The ship’s hull has since been renamed Mare C, and all TUI branding has been removed. It is laid up next to Pullmantur’s Horizon which is also waiting to be scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey.