page_title: TS Leda
section_title: Later history
hierarchical_section_title: TS Leda / Later history
caption_attribution_description: English: The cruise ship Star of Venice moored at Genoa on July 4, 1992.
context_page_description: TS Leda was operated by Bergen Line between Britain and Norway as a North Sea ferry for over 20 years from 1953. She was rebuilt in 1981 as a cruise liner and later became an accommodation vessel at a penal colony for terrorists and members of the Mafia. In 2002, whilst being broken up, she was boarded by Greenpeace campaigners protesting about conditions in the shipbreaking industry.
context_section_description: During her long and varied history Leda went through many changes of name, ownership and use. In the oil crisis of the 1970s her lack of fuel-efficiency and the advent of roll-on/roll-off ferries led to her being laid up in Bergen in 1974, then being chartered as a hostel for oil rig workers until 1979. She was purchased for use as a livestock carrier but instead, as Najla, she was again used for accommodation, this time in the Hebrides, Scotland. 
  In 1980 she was purchased by Dolphin (Hellas) of Piraeus, renamed Albatross, and rebuilt at Perama to become a cruise liner. The aluminium superstructure was extended, the funnel re-shaped and the mainmast removed. By the time the changes were complete in 1984 a swimming pool had been provided and there were 202 cabins accommodating 484 passengers. After some Mediterranean cruises in 1984, and temporarily renamed Alegro, in the same year she undertook cruises in South America. The year 1985 saw Mediterranean, Atlantic and Norwegian cruises under the name Albatross.
  In 1985 she was chartered to the American Star Line (Greek owned) and renamed Betsy Ross in honour of Betsy Ross who made the first American Flag for cruises between Florida and Brazil. However, these were undersubscribed so instead she ran cruises between Venice and Piraeus until being laid-up.  By this time her general condition was deteriorating and a charter for African cruises had to be abandoned after a short time.
  In 1989 she was chartered as Amalfi, only to be laid up for debt at Venice. She was purchased at auction in 1990 by Stargas, renamed Star of Venice, and put under the Vanuatu flag. After a fire in 1991 she was repaired in Rijeka only to become a floating police hostel in 1992 both at Genoa and at Pianosa, Italy, at that time a maximum-security prison island which housed terrorists and members of the Mafia. Once more she was laid up at Venice until being brought into operation for Mediterranean Cruises in 1998, with disastrous results stemming from her poor mechanical condition. In 2000 she was last used as a hotel ship at Ravenna.
caption: Star of Venice at Genoa, 1992
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