MS Sunward was a cruise ship built in 1966 for Knut Kloster. Originally designed and built for ferrying passengers and vehicles around the Bay of Biscay and Gibraltar, the promise and success of the Sunward would be short-lived. English currency restriction and the border closing between Spain and Gibraltar defeated the newly built ship's initial purpose. Ted Arison, an Israeli businessman, contacted Kloster about the possibility of converting the Sunward into a cruise ship in Miami. The Sunward operated as a cruise ship under the newly established Norwegian Caribbean Line. The ship proved to be such a success that Norwegian Caribbean Line commissioned newer, larger ships for its fleet, ultimately replacing the Sunward. She was sold to Compagnie Générale Transméditerranéenne in 1973, and later on with several companies. In 2004, the former Sunward was sold to Bangladeshi breakers for scrap. The vessel appeared in the 1970 dramatic film, "Darker than Amber" and the 1989 comedy "Going Overboard".
History
In June 1966, Norwegian businessman and owner of Klosters Rederi A/S, Knut Kloster, commissioned a car ferry for cruise-ferry service between Southamptom, Vigo, Lisbon, and Gibraltar under the operation of its new subsidiary Kloster Sunward Ferries. Designed by Copenhagen-based naval architect Tage Wandborg of Knud E. Hansen A/S, the Sunward was constructed as a large, purpose-built passenger-and-car liner that provided a safe and comfortable ride for passengers en route to the Mediterranean via the often-stormy waters of the Bay of Biscay.[1]