View source for MS Sovereign

{{Short description|Cruise ship (1987–2020)}}
{{For|other ships of this name|Sovereign of the Seas|Sovereign (ship)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
</noinclude>
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Sovereign of the Seas Nassau Bahamas (244161813) (cropped).jpg
| Ship caption = ''Sovereign of the Seas'' in [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], [[Bahamas]], 2005
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = 
| Ship flag = 
| Ship name = *1988-2008: ''Sovereign of the Seas''
*2008-2020: ''Sovereign''
| Ship owner = *1988-1997: Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
*1997-2020: [[Royal Caribbean Group]]
| Ship operator = *1988-2008: [[Royal Caribbean International]]
*2008-2020: [[Pullmantur Cruises]]
| Ship registry = *1987-2005: [[Oslo]], {{NOR}}
*2005-2008: [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]], {{flag|Bahamas|civil}}
*2008-2020: [[Valletta]], {{flag|Malta|civil}}
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = *[[Chantiers de l'Atlantique]]
*[[St. Nazaire]], [[France]]
| Ship yard number = A29<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.naviecapitani.it/gallerie%20navi/Navi%20da%20Crociera%20----%20Cruise%20Ship/schede%20navi/S/Sovereign.htm|title=sovereign|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524210934/http://www.naviecapitani.it/gallerie%20navi/Navi%20da%20Crociera%20----%20Cruise%20Ship/schede%20navi/S/Sovereign.htm|archive-date=May 24, 2011}}</ref>
| Ship laid down = June 10, 1986<ref name=DNV>{{DNV|id=G107405|shipname=Sovereign|access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref>
| Ship launched = April 4, 1987<ref name=DNV />
| Ship completed = December 18, 1987<ref name=DNV />
| Ship christened = January 15, 1988
| Ship sponsor = [[Rosalynn Carter]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-01-17-8803220838-story.html |title=The Sovereign |first=Alfred |last=Borcover |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |location=Miami |date=January 17, 1988 |access-date=2022-07-20}}</ref>
| Ship maiden voyage = *January 16, 1988 as ''Sovereign of the Seas''
*March 23, 2009 as ''Sovereign''
| Ship in service = 1988–2020
| Ship out of service = 2020
| Ship identification = *[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: 9HUE9
*{{IMO Number|8512281}}
*[[Maritime Mobile Service Identity|MMSI no.:]] 249539000
| Ship fate = Scrapped in [[Aliağa]] in 2020
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = {{sclass|Sovereign|cruise ship}}
| Ship tonnage = *{{GT|73,529}}<ref name=DNV />
*{{NetT|45,194}}<ref name=DNV />
*{{DWT|7,546.9}}<ref name=DNV />
*(Previously {{GT|73,192}} and {{DWT|7,283}}){{citation needed|date=December 2018}}
| Ship displacement = 
| Ship length = {{convert|268.32|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=DNV />
| Ship beam = {{convert|32.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=DNV />
| Ship height = 
| Ship draft = {{convert|7.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name=DNV />
| Ship depth = 
| Ship ice class = 
| Ship power = *Four 9-cylinder Pielstick-Alsthom [[diesel engine]]s
*21,844 kW (combined)
| Ship propulsion = *Two [[controllable pitch propeller]]s
*Two [[bow thruster]]s
| Ship speed = {{convert|21.5|kn}}
| Ship capacity = 2,650 passengers
| Ship crew = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
'''MS ''Sovereign''''' (formerly '''''Sovereign of the Seas''''') was one of three large [[cruise ship]]s of the {{sclass|Sovereign|cruise ship|4}} operated by [[Pullmantur Cruises]] and formerly by [[Royal Caribbean International]]. When she was completed in 1987, ''Sovereign of the Seas'' was the [[Timeline of largest passenger ships|world's largest passenger ship]].<ref name="SOTS">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kCxPpdTQZoC&dq=France+largest+passenger+ship+1972&pg=PA67|title=Royal Caribbean International|author=Brian J. Cudahy|publisher=Cornell Maritime Press|year=2001|page=67|isbn=978-0-87033-529-7 }}</ref> On 24 June 2020, due to economic losses caused by [[COVID-19 pandemic]], ''Sovereign'' arrived and was beached at [[Aliağa]], [[Turkey]], where she was dismantled.

== History ==
[[File:Sovereign (4052491744).jpg|thumb|left|''Sovereign'' docked at [[Ajaccio, Corsica]] in 2008 with her original Pullmantur livery]]
[[File:Pullmantur Cruises Sovereign 04 IMO 8512281 @chesi (cropped).JPG|left|thumb|244x244px|''Sovereign'']]
She sailed on her maiden voyage on January 16, 1988, and was initially based at the [[Port of Miami]].

In 1998 and 1999, the [[Royal Caribbean International]] cruise company was fined US$9 million because ''Sovereign of the Seas'' had repeatedly dumped oily waste into the ocean and tried to hide this using false records, including fake piping diagrams given to the [[US Coast Guard]]. Because the company was and is incorporated in [[Liberia]], Royal Caribbean argued that this case was not in the jurisdiction of US courts.

Her refurbishment in November 2004 was the subject of the [[Travel Channel]] mini-series ''Dry-Dock, A Cruise Ship Reborn''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalcaribbean.com/gatewayPage.do?pagename=discovery_channel&pnav=3&snav=0
|title=Royal Caribbean International - Dry-Dock, A Cruise Ship Reborn - Official Page |access-date=May 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Dry Dock: A Cruise Ship Reborn (Part 1) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDGsdnLnQCI |access-date=2024-03-18 |language=en}}</ref> Throughout her time with Royal Caribbean she sailed cruises to the [[Bahamas]] and the [[Caribbean]] out of [[Miami]] and [[Port Canaveral]], [[Florida]]. These cruises visited [[Little Stirrup Cay|Coco Cay]], one of RCI's privately owned islands, in the [[Berry Islands]] group.

In November 2008 ''Sovereign of the Seas'' was transferred to the fleet of [[Pullmantur Cruises]], a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd subsidiary, and renamed MS ''Sovereign''. ''Sovereign'' set sail on its first voyage with Pullmantur Cruises on March 23, 2009.<ref name="newname">{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-12-2007/0004680941&EDATE= |title=Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Transfers Royal Caribbean International Ship to Pullmantur |access-date=January 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121080245/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104 |archive-date=January 21, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Similar to other ships in the same class, ''Sovereign'' had a multi-deck atrium lobby and a top-deck, funnel-mounted lounge with panoramic views of the sea. The ship's facilities included nine bars, five restaurants, four pools, a spa and a casino.<ref name="tech">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.pullmantur.es/en/barco/sovereign/datos-tecnicos.html
 |title       = SOVEREIGN Technical Data
 |website     = Pullmantur
 |access-date  = June 2, 2014
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140707184748/http://www.pullmantur.es/en/barco/sovereign/datos-tecnicos.html
 |archive-date = July 7, 2014
}}</ref>

In 2018, the ship was featured in the film [[Yucatán (film)|''Yucatán'']], filmed by [[Telecinco Cinema]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-06-13|title=El buque Sovereign de Pullmantur Cruceros, protagonista de 'Yucatán', la nueva película de Daniel Monzón|url=https://www.cruisesnews.es/Portal/2018/06/13/el-buque-sovereign-de-pullmantur-cruceros-protagonista-de-yucatan-la-nueva-pelicula-de-daniel-monzon/|access-date=2022-01-16|website=Portal de noticias de cruceros de CNMG|language=es}}</ref>

[[File:Monarch et Sovereign en Turquie pour être démantelés.jpg|thumb|left|''Monarch'' (left) and ''Sovereign'' (right) beached for scrapping in [[Aliağa]], Turkey in July 2020]]
[[File:AliagaPanoramaOctober2020 (left).jpg|thumb|right|''Sovereign'' being scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey in October 2020]]
In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ''Sovereign'' and {{MS|Monarch}} were placed into "cold lay-up" and Pullmantur Cruises filed for financial reorganization.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pullmantur Ships Move to Cold Lay-up |url=https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23074-pullmantur-ships-move-to-cold-lay-up.html |access-date=28 June 2020 |work=Cruise Industry News |date=11 June 2020 |location=New York NY}}</ref>
According to reports, the interiors of the ships were stripped of "everything of value."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Jim |title=Is Pullmantur Cruises Ending Operations? |url=https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2020/06/articles/disease/is-pullmantur-cruises-ending-operations/ |access-date=28 June 2020 |work=Cruise Law News |publisher=Walker & O'Neill Maritime Lawyers |date=21 June 2020 |location=South Miami FL}}</ref> On 23 July 2020 she was beached in Aliağa alongside her sistership ''Monarch'', which was beached one day before. Scrapping began in August that year and was finished in February 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cruises-info.com/sovereign-has-been-totally-scrapped/|title=Sovereign has been totally scrapped|date=2021-02-14|access-date=2021-02-15}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Yucatán (film)|''Yucatán'']], a 2018 Spanish comedy film set on MS ''Sovereign''.
* ''[[Dil Dhadakne Do]]'', a 2015 Indian family feature film was set on MS ''Sovereign''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|IMO 8512281}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720195404/http://www.pullmanturcruises.co.uk/ships/sovereign|title=Official website|date=July 20, 2020}}

{{Largest passenger ships}}
{{Royal Caribbean Cruise International Ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sovereign}}
[[Category:1987 ships]]
[[Category:Ships of Royal Caribbean International]]
[[Category:Ships built in France]]
[[Category:Ships built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique]]