The classic cruise ship Porto was recently sold for scrap to Aliaga, Turkey, where it is now headed, in fact, towed by Offshore Supply Ship Opal. Its departure from Cais da Matinha, in Lisbon, happened this afternoon, Sunday, October 21st.
Built in the shipyards of Brod. Uljanik, Croatia, as Istra, the small ship was the first of a class of two sisters to which Dalmacija also belonged, this one dismantled in Alang in 2010. It also operated as Astra I and Arion before bearing the current designation. It was as Arion that it reached its peak of a career as a cruise ship, having undergone a major renovation that added new areas especially on the stern and increased the tonnage to 5,888 tons. It had been operated by Classic International Cruises, along with four other classic vessels. Inclusively, it's last cruise happened while denominated Arion.
In mid-2013, it was renamed Porto and painted in the colors of Portuscale Cruises, which would aim to operate it, along with the Funchal, Azores (formerly Athena) and Lisboa (formerly Princess Danae). Meanwhile, Portuscale Cruises closed operations and of these 4 only Funchal managed to sail under such colors. Since then, Porto has been docked for several years at Cais da Matinha, sometimes with Lisboa alongside and, more recently, with the Funchal, until it ended up being sold to Aliaga, where it will arrive on November 4th, 2018 to begin the decommissioning process. Original Article
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