According to a reliable source, entrepreneur Gerry Herrod has purchased Dolphin Hellas Shipping’s 11,563 GT, 560-berth Aegean I. Mr. Herrod intends to convert her to an expedition cruise ship.
One of the cruise industry’s most-respected figures, Herrod is the founder of Ocean Cruise Line, Orient Lines and Discovery World Cruises, which he sold to Paquet Cruises, NCL and Voyages of Discovery, respectively. Ocean Cruise Line and Orient Lines no longer exist, while Discovery World Cruises was merged with Voyages of Discovery.
Aegean I started life as the ZIM ro-ro ferry Narcis in 1973. She was bought in 1985 by Dolphin Hellas Shipping, a company controlled by the Greek shipowner Anargyros Angelopoulos, and in 1988 emerged from a massive refit as the cruise ship Aegean Dolphin. She was renamed Aegean I in 1996 and later marketed under the Golden Sun Cruises and Golden Star Cruises brand names. She has been laid up at Piraeus since 2006 because of a dispute between Dolphin Hellas Shipping, Louis Cruise Lines and Majestic International Cruises about the ship’s ownership. This dispute appears to have been resolved recently.
I look forward to further news about the ship and this reported new venture.
