The Principe Perfeito was a most elegant and well proportioned liner and was perhaps the finest liner ever commissioned for Companhia Nacionial de Navegacao's (CNN) West Africa service.

Design and Construction:

The Principe Perfeito was built by Swan Hunters Shipbuilders Ltd, Wallsend on Tyne, England, UK and was launched on the 22^nd September 1960.

The CNN Years:

Her maiden voyage from Lisbon to Beira commenced on 27 June 1961. A handsome, well-balanced ship, she occasionally was diverted to cruising, more frequently as the demand for line voyages began to taper off later in her career.

The CTM Years:

In 1974, CNN merged with the three other major Portuguese passenger shipping corporations (Companhia de Navegacao Carregadores Acoreanos, Companhia Colonial de Navegacao, and Empresa Insulana de Navegacao) forming Companhia Portugesa de Transportes Maritimos (CTM) in an effort to streamline operations during the fuel crisis and severe competition from the jumbo jet. She continued on her usual route supplemented by cruising.

The Twilight Years:

The political instability in the former Portuguese African colonies only heightened the problems, and on 3 January 1976, the Principe Perfeito was laid up at Lisbon. That April, she was sold to Global Transportation Inc. of Panama and sent back to Swan Hunter for a conversion to the 820 capacity accommodation ship Al Hasa. Between June of 1976 and 1980, she remained stationary at Damman, barely escaping enemy bomb threats after new owners, Fair Line (a subsidiary of Vlasov-owned Sitmar Cruises) purchased her for conversion to a deluxe American-based cruise ship.

With the new name Fairsky, she sat idle as her owners finalized plans for a major rebuilding that was to have cost between $40 and $45 million. The success of the Fairsea (former Carinthia / Fairland) and Fairwind (former Sylvania) created a demand Sitmar was anxious to fill with another sturdy, British-built hull. With a planned delivery date of early 1981, a deal with a Spanish shipyard was called off at the eleventh hour as the estimates skyrocke ted. Instead, Sitmar opted to build a brand new ship, and reserving the name for that vessel, changed the Fairsky's name to Vera and offered her for sale.

The Latsis era and the Final Years:

In June of 1982, Bilinder Marine Corporation, a division of Greek billionaire John Latsis' shipping empire, purchased the Vera and refitted her as the Marianna IX for use as a pilgrims' accommodation ship at Jeddah (port for Mecca). She also served at Rabegh for oil refinery workers, and her name was slightly modified to Marianna 9 in 1984. In 1986, Mr. Latsis temporarily donated her to the Greek government to provide housing for those displaced by an earthquake at Kalamata. She returned to Rabegh in 1988, and was later laid up at Eleusis alongside the Margarita L, the former Windsor Castle. In 1998, the company's four British-built passenger ships were declared surplus and offered for sale. Despite years of inactivity, the Marianna 9 was beautifully maintained, although she did require some cosmetic external repair and the retubing of a boiler. Sadly, she was sold for scrap in mid-2001 and sailed to Alang, India for scrapping.