MV Doulos Hope

MV Doulos Hope is a former cruise ship now serving as a floating library owned by the German faith-based German charity Gute Bücher für Alle.^[4][5]

History
Name	1989–1991: Lady Sarah 1991–1994: Aurora II 1994–2012: MegaStar Aries 2012–2013: Genting World 2013–2022: The Taipan 2022–present: Doulos Hope
Operator	Windsor Line (ordered 1989, bankrupt prior to delivery)[1] New Frontier Cruise Line (1991–1994) Star Cruises (1994–2022) OM Ships International (2022–present)
Port of registry	Valletta, Malta[2]
Builder	Flender Werft
Yard number	647
Laid down	May 9, 1988
Launched	April 7, 1989[3]
Completed	December 16, 1991
Identification	Call sign: 9HA5843[2] IMO number: 8705278 MMSI number: 311000166
Status	In service
Notes	Greek "Doulos" means "Servant", "Doulos Hope" means "Servant of Hope"
General characteristics
Tonnage	3,370 GT
Length	82 m (269 ft 0 in)
Beam	16 m (52 ft 6 in)
Decks	4

Currently named after the MV Doulos, the world's oldest active ocean-faring passenger ship until its retirement in December 2009,^[6] Doulos Hope was originally intended to sail as the Lady Sarah. For most of its career, it has served as a cruise ship under the names Aurora II, Megastar Aries, Genting World and The Taipan,^[7] predominantly for Hong Kong's now-defunct Star Cruises.

After a long completion of a refit in mid-2023, Doulos Hope is based in Southeast Asia and provides a floating library service in shallow-water ports to complement the much larger MV Logos Hope.^[8]

History

The vessel was originally laid down on May 9, 1988 to designs first drawn up by Vikelas Architects of Athens, Greece,^[9] the Lady Sarah was built by Flender Werke of Lübeck, Germany alongside its sister ship the Lady Diana,^[10] nowadays known as the National Geographic Islander II.^[11][12]

Lady Sarah's original buyers, the Windsor Line, a privately owned, late-1980s startup targeting the North American yuppie market,^[13] could not meet their obligations on its completion in 1989. The ship was eventually sold to the Bahamas-based New Frontier Cruise Line instead, and in mid-December 1991 it was renamed MS Aurora II.^[3]

In July 1994, the ship was again sold to Hong Kong-based Star Cruises, where it would spend the remainder of its cruising career, and renamed MS Megastar Aries.^[14] After 2 decades later, while still remaining with Star Cruises, it was renamed first as MV Genting World in July 2012, and then as MV The Taipan in October 2013.^[7]

After Star Cruises' parent company, Genting Hong Kong, filed for bankruptcy in January 2022, the cruise line folded. In May of the same year, The Taipan was handed to OM Ships International,^{[15][16][17][18][19][20]} the ships ministry arm of Christian outreach organisation Operation Mobilisation.^[21] It was purchased to give the organization access to new ports, thanks to the ship's shallower draft compared to its other ships.^[22][23][8]

On May 25, 2022 Operation Mobilisation affiliate Gute Bücher für Alle accepted the ship in Penang, Malaysia, and it completed its sea trials on July 20. It then sailed to Singapore to continue a refurbishment which was concluded with its official relaunch on May 5, 2023.^{[4][24][25][26][27]}

Post-refurbishment, Doulos Hope is now registered in Valletta, Malta^[2] but based in Southeast Asia, where it stays in each port it visits for extended periods. As of March 2024, the ship had sailed over 4,350 miles and visited ports in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines^[28] under its new name, welcoming almost 120,000 visitors and selling close to 150,000 books in the process.^[29]