Amusement World

The 1967-built (as "MS Patricia") cruise ship Amusement World was one of the gambling vessels sailing in the waters of Singapore.

The vessel (IMO number 6620773) was owned by the Hong Kong China-based New Century Group (via the subsidiary New Century Maritime Ltd) and operated by New Century Cruise Lines (travel brand and part of the subsidiary New Century Tours Corporation Pte Ltd).

When operated by New Century Cruise Lines, Amusement World was initially Tuvalu-flagged (MMSI 572243000, registered in Funafuti) and later reflagged to Panama (MMSI 374142000, registered in Colon).

History - construction and ownership

MS Amusement World entered service in 1967 (as Patricia). The ship was drydock reconstructed twice - in 1978 (by Smith Dock Co Ltd in Newcastle upon Tyne England) and in 1988 (by Werft Nobiskrug AG in Rendsburg Germany). Smaller refurbishment projects were conducted in 1990, 1994, and 1997.

The vessel was built by Lindholmens Varv AB in Goteborg Sweden (hull/yard number 1095) and had min passenger capacity 946 (lower berths), max capacity 1300 (all beds), 6 passenger-accessible decks (3 with cabins), powerplant with 4x Wartsila diesel engines (model PIELSTICK 6PC2-2L-400, total power output 7,42 MW), propulsion system based on 2x CPP (controllable pitch propellers), service speed 15 knots (max 18 KN).

The 1300-passenger ship Amusement World had two sisterships: Saga (Swedish Lloyd) and Svea (Rederi AB Svea/SILJA LINE). The vessel was originally designed and built as a cruiseferry - with cargo capacity 175 cars and max passenger capacity 750. The shipowner Swedish Lloyd decided to sell MS Patricia to STENA LINE in 1978 and the name was changed to "Stena Oceanica". Following a drydock reconstruction, the ferry was redesigned in order to increase its cabin number and passenger capacity (to 1300).

As a Ro-Pax (car and passenger) ship, Patricia operated the Spain-England route Bilbao-Southampton. During its service, the ship was named Patricia (1967-1978), Stena Oceanica (1978-79), Stena Saga (1979-1988), Lion Queen (1988-1990 and 1994-97), Crown Princess and Crown Princess Victoria (1990), Pacific Star (1990-93), Sun Fiesta (1993-94), Putri Bintang (1998), Amusement World (1998-2021).

As a casino ship, Amusement World's itinerary program was based on cruises to nowhere out of homeport Singapore (where replaced the fleetmate Leisure World/Skyward). Most of the time, Amusement World spent anchored in the Singapore Straits. Occasionally, the boat was chartered by Malaysian tour operators.

In late-April 2021, New Century Cruise Lines (NCCL) retired two of Asia's longest-serving cruise ships - Amusement World (54-year-old) and Leisure World (52-year-old). Commenting on the disposal of both vessels, NCCL said that the COVID crisis had severely affected the operations of the cruise ships, which had been unable to generate charter revenue while at the same time continued to incur maintenance costs. Coupled with strong scrap steel prices, the company decided to sell the boats to realize its investment in an uncertain market environment.

• Leisure World was sold to NKD Maritime Ltd (India) for USD 3,59 million (~EUR 2,98M/~GBP 2,59M), gaining ~HKD 6,37M (~USD 0,82M) on the sale / based on its book value HKD 21,3M.
• Amusement World was also sold to NKD Maritime Ltd.
• Both ships were sold for scrap metal and departed their anchorage (off Singapore) heading to Alang India.
• Amusement World's AIS last transmitted on August 2 (at 5:49 UTC) showing the boat off Alang.

The New Century Maritime-owned cruise ship Aegean Paradise (1990-built as "Orient Venus") was sold to Victor Restis (Greece) in 2015 for USD 22 million.

Shipboard facilities and amenities

The 250-seat Patricia's Restaurant offered western and oriental buffet-style meals to all passengers. A-la-carte service was also available. The 40-seat Hawker Centre was the dining venue to sample Hawke (cooked food) in the evenings.

The latest drydock changes transforming the vessel into a gambling ship resulted in increasing the space of the main gaming area (on C Deck). The Saloon Deck's venues were refurbished in order for guests to take advantage of food, karaoke, spa massages.

The Lion Bar hosted a daily show (themed on magician acts and trivia games) to keep the tourists entertained. After the show, guests had the opportunity to sample wines and other beverages until the wee hours.

The Sporty Bar was a jazz-themed lounge with a ping pong table, putting green, dart-throwing board. Along the walkway to the Lion Bar, there was a state-of-the-art Video Arcade attracting guests of all ages.