MV Xanadu 2

Xanadu 2 was built in 1955 for Hafendampfschiffahrt A.G. as the Wappen von Hamburg by the Steinwerder Industrie AG shipyard at Hamburg, Germany. As she was intended for day cruise service between Hamburg, Cuxhaven, Heligoland and Hornum, she had a rather enormous capacity of 1,600 passengers. In 1960 she was sold to Greece, renamed Delos and refitted at Piraeus in 1961. In 1967 she was sold to cruise in the Alaskan waters and renamed Polar Star and in 1970 Pacific Star. In 1972 she was sold to Xanadu Cruises and renamed Xanadu. In 1977 Xanadu was laid up near Vancouver and in the mid 80's brought to Los Angeles and named Expex. In 1991, she was purchased by Wilmington, CA-based Friendships and renamed FAITHFUL. Their intent was to restore the ship as a Christian missionary and relief vessel and deploy her along the west coast and into Caribbean waters. Due to inadequate funding these plans never matrialised and the ship was sold again to be converted into a hospital ship in 2003 and renamed Xanadu 2 but her future remains uncertain.