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TS ''Maxim Gorkiy'' was, until 30 November 2008, a cruise ship owned by Sovcomflot, Russia, under long-term charter to Phoenix Reisen, Germany. She was built in 1969 by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, West Germany for the German Atlantic Line as TS ''Hamburg''. In 1973 she was renamed to TS ''Hanseatic''. The following year she was sold to the Black Sea Shipping Company, Soviet Union and received the name Maksim Gorkiy in honour of the poet Maxim Gorky, renamed to Maxim Gorkiy after collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. On 20 August 2008 the ''Maxim Gorkiy'' was sold to Orient Lines.〔 〕 She was due to enter service with her new owners on 15 April 2009 under the name TS ''Marco Polo II'', but in November 2008 the relaunch of the Orient Lines brand was cancelled.〔 〕 On 8 January 2009 the ship was sold for scrap, and she was beached at Alang, India on 26 February 2009.〔 〕 Although never used as such, the ship was originally planned as a dual ocean liner/cruise ship, for service between Hamburg and New York as well as cruising. She was the first major passenger liner built in Germany since 1938.〔 On entering service for the Black Sea Shipping Company, she became the first four-star cruise ship operated under the Soviet flag. Several variants of the ship's name were used through her career. Some sources refer to her with the prefix TS (turbine ship) instead of SS (steamship),〔〔 while her final name ''Maxim Gorkiy'' was also written as ''Maksim Gorkiy'' and ''Maxim Gorki''.〔〔 She should not be confused with any of the Soviet era cruise liners of the Ivan Franko-class, the so-called "poet" or "writer" class, including the current MS Marco Polo. ==Concept and construction== The Hamburg Atlantic Line had begun operations in 1958, operating the former Canadian Pacific liner ''Empress of Scotland'' as the first SS ''Hanseatic'' on a route connecting Cuxhaven, Germany to New York. In 1965 the company decided to order a replacement for the ''Hanseatic''. In order to finance this, a new company German Atlantic Line was founded and shares of the new company were offered to past Hamburg Atlantic Line passengers. The unusual scheme was successful, and an order was placed for the new ship at Deutsche Werft, Hamburg in November 1966.〔 Before the ship was delivered, Deutsche Werft merged with Howaldtswerke to form Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft. The new ship, eventually named ''Hamburg'' was originally planned to operate both as an ocean liner and as a cruise ship, similarly to RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', under construction at the time. However, by the time the ''Hamburg'' was delivered in March 1969, German Atlantic Line (as the whole company was known by then) had abandoned liner service and the ''Hamburg'' was used for full-time cruising. Additionally the first ''Hanseatic'' had burnt in September 1966, and instead of replacing her the ''Hamburg'' now entered service alongside the second ''Hanseatic'' that had been purchased from Zim Lines in 1967.〔〔〔 The ship's interiors were modernized 1988, however most public spaces were in the same configuration as they were when the ship was built until the end of her career.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「TS Maxim Gorkiy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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