Russia’s Rosmorport is planning to sell the cruise ship Knyaz Vladimir, which was built in 1971. The vessel has mostly remained inactive in the Black Sea for the past several years, having last been operated by Black Sea Cruises before it was acquired by the Russian Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport in early 2017.
In late 2025, Rosmorport announced its decision to sell the 765-passenger ship, initially putting it up for auction with a starting price of 873.5 million rubles (approximately $11 million). However, due to a lack of bids, the auction was canceled, and the ship was subsequently offered for open sale without a minimum asking price, in an "as is, where is" condition.
By February 2026, Rosmorport reached an agreement to sell the Knyaz Vladimir to Moscow-based Razvitie Goroda LLC, with plans for the transaction to be completed in March 2026. Despite these developments, there have been no recent updates, and the ship remains docked in Novorossiysk.
Knyaz Vladimir was initially part of Black Sea Cruises, which aimed to enhance maritime infrastructure and boost tourism in the region. Originally, the ship’s itineraries included departures from Sochi, alongside stops in Novorossiysk and Sevastopol, with an overnight call in Yalta. After serving as a cruise-ferry for three summer seasons, the ship’s operations were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and ongoing conflicts in the Black Sea region.
The ship briefly resumed operations in 2023, offering new routes between Sochi and Sukhumi, but was ultimately laid up again in Novorossiysk, where it currently remains.
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