Maryah

24.09.2015 - 21.01.2016

31.07.2015 - 04.09.2015
13.05.2015 - 13.07.2015
08.08.2014 - 16.04.2015
31.01.2013 - 04.08.2014
21.08.2012 - 30.01.2013
m/y Maryah (ex Czar, Szczecinska B970/01, Fortune, Dalmorgeologiya) IMO no 9044619

Captain

M/y Maryah (photo by Manuel Hernandez via marinetraffic)

As per shipspotting there is a bit of history to Maryah before she became a yacht. She was launched 25th Jul 1991 as Dalmorgeologiya (for the organisation of the same name), yard number 531. Intended as research vessel for the USSR. Unfortunately (or not?) the Soviet Union collapsed in Dec 1991 so the vessel was never completed and I can only assume the original client defaulted in the process.

Laid up Szczecin until sold in July 1995 to Lizard Investments. Renamed Fortune (under Vanuatu registry) and towed to Piraeus, arriving 19th Sept 1995 and laid up Elefsis Bay. In 2005 she was renamed Czar with owners given as Chrismar Yachting and was obviously towed around the short distance to Ambelakia Shipyard and again laid up in Salamina, Greece on June 21, 2006. 

Czar in Jul 2007 (photo by Aleksi Lindström via shipspotting)

Czar in Jul 2007 (photo by Aleksi Lindström via shipspotting)

Czar in Jul 2007 (photo by Aleksi Lindström via shipspotting)

Czar in Jul 2007 (photo by Aleksi Lindström via shipspotting)

Her specifications were listed as follows:
Length (BP): 111.5 m
Breadth: 17.0 m
Depth: 5.72 m
GT/ NT 5.650/ 1.700
DW 2.200 tons
Built (hull): Szczecinska, Szczecin, Poland (Hull No. b970-1/1)

But as time went on it appears the design studio H2 was involved in the project by 2009 and then the hull was modified & her volume changed, so her new and current details are as follows according to Superyachttimes (slightly corrected by Author): 

Length 125 m

Beam 17 m
Draught 5.6 m
Builder: Elefsis Shipyard, Greece

Hull: Steel with aluminium superstructure
Launched 2015
GT/ NT 7023/ 2016

Propulsion: 7x Caterpillar engines with a 11.2MW output in diesel electric configuration to twin azipod propellers.

Then one could assume the project was in full swing as H2 had been engaged and it carried on until 2011 when the director of the initial company engaged for the project passed away. The project came to a standstill and it took about a year to get the project restarted, this time with the lead of Nikos Dafnias from Alphamarine. 

In 2012 I was approached by a an industry acquaintance asking if I was interested in joining this project. I said I was and then subsequently I was invited for an interview in Greece and met with the owners rep. The current yacht I was working on then showed signs of bankruptcy so after I got the offer to join the project I accepted after signing off and moved to Greece in August 2012 to start this adventure.

She was no longer at the Ambelakia shipyard in Salamina but at the floating dock in Elefsina, next to Latsis Lamda yard where I had been in the project for the conversion of Turama (ex Columbus Caravelle). The Elefsina shipyard was union & Government controlled and had hardly any work to do, our project was involving them as little as possible because of the political situation. In essence our project rented the facilities to carry out the conversion "Project Czar" with their own team.

I had been told that within a year we'll be launching but as I walked onboard I thought to myself never in a million years will she be ready in a years time. I was right, she launched about 2.5yrs later as fully SOLAS classed passenger vessel with a capacity of 54 guests.

The years spent in Greece were very informative re: how to build a ship and sometimes how to not build a ship. Also learned a lot about the processes involving Class and contractors, DAD documents, also new Class rules came into force and had to be taken into consideration. I was not much involved in the project as captain but I gave insights where I was asked for and when I could offer assistance from my experience. I already had 3 engineers on site that monitored progress and surveyed systems in place and was watching progress on a daily basis. We had a quite a lot of monitoring to do and really no hands on as it was not our ship yet so to speak.

As we were becoming more ready I also became more busy as I had to start recruiting more crew on site, arrange their lodgings, transport, feeding, uniform etc. The paperwork became more ship running fashion than project document fashion. Then we had to start doing drills and commission gear with yard and Class, troubleshoot and fix and check again. One day we were all done and I had interim certificates in my folder and we could depart.

The end result I think was pretty nice aesthetically except when she was caught in one angle from ahead where it shows clearly where the bow had been modified to fit into the old hull, looks a bit angular and not much in her favor, see below.

Maryah (courtesy of Marinetraffic)

At the time of her launch in 2015 I recall she was listed as the 5th largest yacht in the world. The summer was busy and we went to many places as can be read from the megayacht news.