N/T INFANTE DOM HENRIQUE

The Portuguese passenger liner INFANTE DOM HENRIQUE underway at sea in 1972 in original CCN colours and laid up at Mar da Palha, off Lisbon, photographed by Luís Miguel Correia in early 1977. Below the same ship twenty years later cruising in the Caribbean as the SEAWIND CROWN in Premier Cruises livery photographed by Benoit Donne.

The 1961-Belgian built INFANTE DOM HENRIQUE was the flagship of Companhia Colonial de Navegação and the Portuguese Merchant Navy until 1976 when she was withdrawn from service following a final cruise to Madeira island. She was transferred to CTM - Companhia Portuguesa de Transportes Marítimos in 1974 and sold to the Sines Development Authority (Gabinete da Área de Sines) in 1977.

After a refit in Setubal by SETENAVE she was towed to Sines in November 1977 and served there as accommodation ship until rescued by Mr. George Potamianos in November 1986. Still under the name INFANTE DOM HENRIQUE, the ship returned to Lisbon in November 1986 under tow and after a very extensive rebuilding done in Lisbon and Perama, Greece, the ship returned to cruise service in November 1988 as the VASCO DA GAMA.

Sold to Cruise Holdings in 1995 and transferred to Premier Cruises soon after, the VASCO DA GAMA was renamed SEAWIND CROWN in 1995. Her final cruise took place in September 2000 under charter to Pullmantur and following the demise of Premier Cruises the SEAWIND CROWN was seized in Barcelona until 2003.

Sold in 2003 to be broken up, she was renamed BARCELONA and sailed under her own power to China. Breaking of the old former INFANTE DOM HENRIQUE took place in China between March and May 2004.
Text and images copyright L.M.Correia and Bennoit Donne. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia