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Former cruise ship Aywasowsky (later sailing under the names Carina, Primexpress Island) is now in use as student accomodation vessel Rochdale One in Amsterdam, The Netherlands until 2009 ROCHDALE ONE
Aywasowsky in orginal livery In 1977, Rochdale One was built in a French Yard, Ateliers et Chantiers Dubigeon-Nomandie, at Nantes. She was christened by the wife of the Soviet ambassador at the time in France. The Soviets then owned the largest fleet of passenger ships in the world. Most of their ships were built in series, e.g. the Ivan Franko class (five ships) and the Mikhail Kalinin class (nineteen ships) built between 1958 and 1972. Most of their ships sailed in dual roles: they were either used in deep sea liner service and cruise ships, or as a ferry and cruise ship. Of course these vessels were a valuable soucre of income for the Soviets, they generated much needed western currencies. The new ship was taken into service under the name of Aywasowski. She was one of a kind, having no sister ships. Her homewaters were the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and she was operated bij the Soviet Danube Shipping Cy. In the first years her cruises were sold in combination with a river cruise on the Danube ending in the Rumanian port of Constanta. There passengers switched to the Aywasoski for the "sea part" of their trip. Top-deck, brochure 1980's Being a rather small vessel, with a lenght of 121.5m, a draft of 4.5m, measuring 7.600GRT, she carried just 328 passengers. With her distinctive funnel and sleek appareance, she gave the impression of being more of a pocket size liner than a yacht, which at the time was the case for many small cruise ships sailing the Aegean Sea. After some uneventful years, Aywasowski ran into diffculties. Her facilities became somewhat outmoded as many larger and newer competitors with more luxurious interiors appreared on the scene. Her passenger loads decreased and on top of this, as a result of the political changes in the Soviet Union, owners of the vast Russian passenger ship fleet ran into serious financial difficulties. Much needed maintenance was postponed, and several vessels were arrested in port because of unpaid bills.... Ships disappeared in lay-up, their crew who had not been paid for months living on board in appalling conditions. Souvenir pins of the Aywasowski (for details click on picture for larger image) Until 1982, Aywasoski's life went by fairly uncomplicated, leaving the Black Sea now and then for a stint in the Med and South East Asia. Later on, she also sailed in the Baltic Sea, Africa as well as the Caribbean. In 1997, she was renamed Carina. She was chartered by German tour operator Phoenix Reisen. With her shortcomings like her size and plain interiors, the former Aywasowski was able to keep a loyal following over the years. Becoming more and more outmoded, she was suddenly sold and renamed again in 2000 to Primexpress Island for Mediterranean service out of Cyprus. Her cruises were marketed as gambling cruises. Bookings remained at poor levels and the following year she was arrested in the port of Limassol because of unpaid bills.... The present Captain of the Rochdale, Giovanni Vitali who gave us the opportunity to document the ship told us her story from that moment on: Captain Vitali of Rochdale One Valery, one of the remaining crew members who showed us around the vessel At the time, three housing associations (AWV, DUWO and Rochdale) located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands were looking for possiblities to accommodate students. They saw the acquisition of an out of work passenger ship as an ideal solution to their problems. A passenger ship could be put into use as an accommodation vessel almost immediately. At first they looked around in Eleusis Bay, near Athens, Greece where hundreds of out of work ships are in lay up, amongst them ex-ferries and -cruise ships which in some cases have been there for over a decade. However, they returned home empty handed as many vessels had deteriorated quickly, being in lay up without hardly any maintenance. Then, they heard of a possibly suitable vessel in Limassol, Cyprus, which was under arrest there.Immediately, they flew over there and inspected the vessel. The ship was in a terrible state, 18 crew members lived on board. These men had not received any payment for over a year and just moved to another cabin (there were plenty) when the one they used at that particular moment had become uninhabitable. As sewage tanks aboard were full, toilets didn't work. After the Primexpress Island was freed from arrest, she was towed to Greece, where she would be rebuilt into an accommodation vessel. The yard could not meet the agreed deadline of March 2004 as many workers were needed to help make the preparations for the Olympic Games 2004 in Athens. So it was decided to finish the work in Amsterdam, and sail to the Netherlands under the ship's own power. After necessary repairs were finished and short sea trials proved the vessel was seaworthy, she arrived in Amsterdam on July 8th. She was renamed Rochdale One, after one of the housing associations. On September 20th 2004 she opened her doors as a student accommodation ship. She will remain in this role until 2009. In the mean time, her enigines will be kept in working order, so if needed she can be put into active service again. At the end of January 2005, the last group of students will board the vessel (there are194 cabins for rent starting at 200 euro/ month). Her dining room has been rebuilt into separate kitchens for use by the students living aboard. In fact, only the indoor swimming pool/sauna and the bar aft on B-deck still remain as they were during her sailing days. Captain Giovanni and his four crew members will keep the ship in perfect condition.
Deck-plan Aywasowskiy
Deck-plan Rochdale One, note that almost all public spaces have been replaced by cabins or kitchens
for details click on picture for larger image
Rochdale One in the Houthavens, Amsterdam, January 2005
Billboard of Rochdale One in use to provide student accommodation
Kitchen in use by students Crew kitchen
Reception
Luxury cabin Standard cabin
Indoor pool and sauna
Former Boutique Repair shop, engine room
Two Pielstick diesels 4 generators
......................... Control room................................
.....................Bar "the Ninth Billow", B-deck aft.................
.........................Aft, pool area B-deck.......................
Funnel Top deck
Bridge
Bridge
Display stand on the bridge: photographs of the launch of the Aywasowski and a portrait of the wife of the Soviet-ambassador in France who christened the vessel in1977. |
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details click on picture for larger image
