End of the line for Love Boat, an icon of a golden age

The famous old cruise liner Sea Venture has begun her final voyage to be broken up in Turkey.

The popular ship was a regular island visitor in the 1970s and went on to achieve worldwide fame as the “Love Boat”.

She was a symbol of a golden age in Bermudian history but has been laid up in Italy for more than four years. 

Now her days are numbered and Pacific, as she is called, recently began a one-way trip to the breakers in Aliaga, Turkey.

Last week the specialist shipping publication Tradewinds reported that the old ship was under tow heading through the Mediterranean on her way to be dismantled and destroyed in Turkey.

The article by Jonathan Boonzaier stated: “A long-term dockside resident in the Italian port of Genoa, it has finally been sold to shipbreakers in Aliaga, Turkey.

“Troubles began for the famous vessel when it entered a yard in Genoa shortly after being acquired by Spain’s Quail Cruises in 2008. It required a large amount of steelwork and mechanical repairs, half of which had been completed by the time a major dispute broke out between Quail and previous owner CVC Tur of Brazil over payments.

“Tired of the bickering and non-payment by either party, the yard stepped in and arrested the ship, which has sat in a partially refitted state ever since. Numerous attempts over the years to sell or auction it have failed.”

The Sea Venture was built in West Germany in 1971 for Flagship Cruises specifically to carry tourists from New York to Bermuda and back.

The ship was owned by Piers Lorentzen who lived in Tucker’s Town and she employed several Bermudians. 

Between 1971 and 1975 she spent the spring and summer months ferrying Americans to the island on a weekly basis. 

During that time the liner’s arrival into the Number 1 Shed at Hamilton prompted excited crowds to gather harbourside and watch the spectacle.

She would also take sick islanders to the US for treatment as well as groups of disabled children for a holiday, free of charge.

The ship even once came to the rescue of the QE2 off Bermuda when the ship experienced major engine trouble.

In 1975, the vessel was bought by Princess Cruises and for the next 27 years she sailed across the world under the new name of the Pacific Princess. 

It was during this time that she shot to global fame as the setting for the American sit-com, The Love Boat, where lonely passengers found love on the seas. n