3 years after disembarking its last Saga Cruises guests, the 1981-built ship Saga Pearl II was sold for recycling in Turkey.

Tugs towed the 18,600 GT vessel from her lay-up moorings close to Piraeus (Athens, Greece) on Saturday, July 23, bringing to an end the aborted project that would have seen her converted into one of the largest private yachts in the world.

Saga Cruises had sold the vessel back in April 2019 to Aqua Explorer Holdings, an obscure BVI-registered company that immediately sent her to Greece and renamed her from Saga Pearl II to Pearl II.

Initial rumours about the future of the ship supposed further cruising under Greek ownership or service as a floating hotel. It quickly became known in the cruise sector that the company was controlled by Saudi Arabian interests, via Greek intermediaries, who planned to convert the Pearl II into a private yacht.

The super-yacht project did not progress as the vessel was delivered at the height of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s anti-corruption crackdown that saw the arrests of Saudi Arabian princes, ministers, and businessmen.

The Pearl II yacht was put back on the sales market just when COVID struck. The shutdown resulted in a purge of older vessels. 39 have been sold for scrap since the Coronavirus was first detected in the city of Wuhan (China).

The Pearl II ship was built for Hadag Cruises (Germany) as the Astor and went on with a varied career, sailing for different cruise ship operators (Safmarine, Deutsche Seerederei, Seetours, Transocean Cruises, Club Cruise).

Saga Cruises acquired the cruise ship in 2008, replacing her with a newbuild vessel just over a decade later.

Source: https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/10661-saga-pearl-2-sold-for-scrap