MS Oosterdam (/ˈstərdæm/ OH-ster-dam) is a Vista class cruise ship of the Holland America Line, a division of Carnival Corporation & plc. Launched in 2002 as the line's second Vista, Oosterdam is sister to MS Noordam, MS Westerdam, and MS Zuiderdam. The ship's name is derived from the Dutch translation for the eastern compass point.

Oosterdam docked at Argostoli, Kefalonia
History
NameOosterdam
NamesakeThe eastern compass point
OperatorHolland America Line
Port of registry Netherlands
BuilderFincantieri, Marghera, Italy
Yard number6076
Laid down16 January 2002
Launched18 November 2002
Christened27 July 2003
Completed11 July 2003
In service2003–present
Identification
Statusin service
Notes[1][2]
General characteristics
Class and typeVista-class cruise ship
Tonnage
Length285.24 m (935 ft 10 in)
Beam32.25 m (105 ft 10 in)
Draught7.9 m (25 ft 11 in)
Decks11 passenger decks
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) (maximum)
  • 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) (service)
Capacity1,964 passengers
Crew812 crew
NotesRange is 18 days at 19.5 knots[1][3]

Christening

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Rotterdam and Oosterdam on 27 July

Oosterdam was christened by Princess Margriet of the Netherlands in Rotterdam on 29 July 2003, Holland America Line's founding city. The event was held over three days of celebrations marking the company's 130th anniversary. The joint flagship of the fleet, MS Rotterdam, joined Oosterdam "bow-to-bow" in welcoming her.

Technical information

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The machinery spaces aboard Oosterdam are vast and extend along two of its lowest decks for the most part of the vessel.

MS Oosterdam is powered by a CODAG propulsion system encompassing five Sulzer ZAV40S diesel engines (three 16-cylinder and two 12-cylinder, built under license by Grandi Motori Trieste, now owned by Wärtsilä, in Trieste, Italy)[4][5] and a GE LM2500 gas turbine.[3] She is one of only a handful of merchant vessels that is powered by such an arrangement. It is propelled by two 17.62 MW (23956.53 ps), 160rpm synchronous freshwater-cooled[1] ABB Azipod propulsors.

Its two engine rooms are separated by a watertight bulkhead. Each engine room is fully independent of the other, with its own fuel, lubricating, cooling and electrical distribution systems.

The ship's potable water is produced by three large Alfa Laval multi-effect flash evaporating desalination plants.

History of the name Oosterdam

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While no prior ship has been named Oosterdam, the first vessel with the "Ooster" prefix launched 1913 as the 8,251-ton, one-prop freighter Oosterdijk. At the time, "dijk" or "dyk" was the suffix used for cargo vessels, "dam" was used for passenger ships. She sailed between Rotterdam and Savannah, Georgia for Holland America as well as serving the Allied war effort during World War I.[6]

Areas of operation

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The ship has been alternating fall/winter cruises along the Mexican Riviera and summer in Alaska. In the autumn of 2011, she visited Hawaii for the first time.[7] After January 2012, Holland America paused visits to Mexico's west coast, in part due to safety concerns there in connection to the Mexican Drug War and in part due to the depressed cruise market in Southern California; the Oosterdam shifted to Hawaii, Australia, and the South Pacific.[8] Holland America was the first cruise line to resume service to Mazatlán in the autumn of 2013 with MS Veendam, and Oosterdam followed suit shortly thereafter.[9] On 4 May 2019 Oosterdam collided with MS Nieuw Amsterdam while docking stern to stern in Vancouver, British Columbia. There were no injuries reported and disembarkation on both ships proceeded as usual.[10] As of mid-2024 she is sailing in the Mediterranean.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Specifications:Oosterdam". 17 March 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  2. ^ "Vessel details OOSTERDAM". 17 March 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  3. ^ a b "GE LM2500 Press Release". General Electric - Aviation. 16 March 2004. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  4. ^ "Wärtsilä In Italy". 18 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Propulsion Engines for Cruise Ships" (PDF). May 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  6. ^ "News Release - December 6, 2002". Holland America Line. 6 December 2002.
  7. ^ "Cruises on ms Oosterdam, a Holland America Line cruise ship". Holland America Line. 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  8. ^ "California Dream? So-Cal Cruise Travel Dealt Another Blow". 12 May 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Mexico: Three cruise lines returning to Mazatlan". Los Angeles Times. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Two cruise ships collide in Vancouver port". 5 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. ^ MV Oosterdam at vesselfinder.com
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