Summer “Thomson Spirit” in Vigo

Coinciding with the arrival of the ship “Aurora”, yesterday the ship “Thomson Spirit” shared a berth at the port of Vigo, arriving from Gibraltar on its way to Leixoes. On board, this time, were 1,302 tourists, mostly British and American, and 491 crew members of various nationalities.

Our collaborator Alfredo Campos Brandón photographed it during its stopover on a summery day with a great festive atmosphere, as about three thousand people moved through the historic center and port area for a few hours. Six buses departed with the excursions booked on board to places of interest, and the delegation of Pérez y Cía handled the arrangements.

This ship is the former “Nieuw Amsterdam”, construction number V27 from Chantiers de l’Atlantique, a shipyard in St. Nazaire (France), and it entered service in May 1983 flying the flag of Holland America Line. In July of that year, it debuted with a voyage between Le Havre and New York.

Since May 2003, it has been in service with Tui, renamed “Thomson Spirit”. In May 2008, it was purchased by Bella Shipping Co. Ltd., a company based in Limassol (Cyprus). In February 2010, it came under the ownership of Spirit Holding Ltd., being flagged in Malta, and since April 2012, it has been listed as owned by Spirit Trading Opco LLC, flying the same flag.

Weighing 33,930 gross tons and 4,217 net tons, it measures 214.66 m in length, 27.21 m in beam, and 7.40 m in draft. It is powered by two Sulzer RLB66 engines, totaling 22,400 kW, allowing it to maintain a speed of 21 knots. IMO Code 8024014.

It is an elegant ship, a representative of another era of shipbuilding

Photos: Alfredo Campos Brandón (alfysumundonaval.com)