AIDAvita was renamed Avitak in Tallinn and now sails under the Lieberian flag
It has been clear since June 2022 that the AIDAvita will no longer complete a cruise for the Rostock shipping company AIDA Cruises. As a result of the corona pandemic and with a view to the Green Cruising strategy, AIDA decided to phase out the cruise ship, which is now almost 21 years old. This decision has already been made for the AIDAcara (now Astoria Grande), AIDAmira (now Ambition) and also for the AIDAaura (on the road in the AIDA fleet until September 2023). Thus, from the end of September, the kissing-mouth fleet will only consist of 11 ships – the oldest ship will then be the AIDAdiva, which was commissioned in 2007.
For a long time it was quiet around the AIDAvita, which has been in the Estonian capital of Tallinn for many months. For example, the prominent AIDA letters on the funnel have already been removed, but nothing is known about the ship’s buyer.
The name of the ship was recently changed and it will henceforth be known as “Avitak”. What is striking here is that this is not a completely new name, but the word “vita” is in it and the first letter is an “A” like AIDA. At the same time, the ship was registered in Liberia with the IMO number 9221554 and thus also carries the flag of the African state. It is unclear what will happen to the cruise ship.
A change of name would be conceivable as an intermediate step until a buyer is found to continue operating the ship or as preparation for the delivery to a scrap yard – for example to Aliaga in Turkey or Alang in India. The change of flag to Liberia on the one hand and the new name on the other speak in favor of this possibility. As part of the corona crisis, many ships were sold to Aliaga and Alang to be scrapped there. It is not uncommon for the ships to be renamed and flagged for the last trip there and thus not put on the beach with their original name. For example, the former Phoenix Reisen MS Albatros became the “Tros” shortly before it was scrapped, or the Grand Celebration of the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line became the “Grand”.
Official information on the whereabouts of the former AIDAvita is not yet available. The next few weeks will certainly show what the fate of the cruise ship will be like. The only thing that is certain is that the ship will be used more often for AIDA Cruises.
