After 30 years of taking passengers on the high seas, a cruise ship was left totally abandoned – and stuck on a stomach-lurching tilt – but urban explorers managed to capture the ghostly scene before it was scrapped
For more than three decades, the grand Ms Astor vessel was the site of thousands of holidaymakers’ happy memories – before it became destined for the scrap heap.
From 1986, the cruise ship set sail, allowing tourists to explore the seas and coastlines at their leisure, but eventually, after 34 years, the vessel’s working life ran its course, and it was sent to a graveyard of forgotten ships.
It was here that it got stuck on a truly stomach-lurching tilt – that no one who struggles with seasickness or finding their sea legs would likely be able to bear. Some urban explorers braved the intense angle to go and take one final look at this frozen-in-time pleasure boat.
Bob Thissen, 35, and his team of adventurous explorers – who regularly seek out abandoned spaces – visited the Ms Astor at a ship demolition site in Aliaga, Turkey, where it was ending its days in 2021.
One of the biggest demolition sites in the world, it’s something of a ship graveyard – and it is more than a little bit creepy.
Despite being in “perfect condition” Ben noted, the ship was set to be scrapped, when he luckily managed to get aboard and snap some haunting photos.
“We got permission from BMS ship recycling to explore this ship before it got scrapped, a unique opportunity,” he said.
“It’s a weird sight to see a place like a cruise ship which is normally full of life totally empty.
“It’s really sad that a ship in perfect condition like the Astor got scrapped, I’m sure it could have served for a lot more years if it wasn’t for the pandemic,” Ben said.
In one shot captured by the team, you can see a bar area in perfect nick, that could easily be still in use, with dust sheets carelessly thrown over the leather booths and some flattened cardboard boxes littering the floor the only clue that the space has been abandoned.
Another photo shows clearly the sickening tilt the ship was stuck at before it was scrapped.
A meeting room of sorts can be seen, with a globe decorating the table, and the curtains falling to one side due to the slant of the ship. Again, the vessel seems to be in incredibly good condition, as though at any moment someone might return and sit down a the table.
The urban explorers also captured photos of a hall where entertainment for passengers would likely have been put on. Velvet seats crammed in show just how busy the MS Astor would once have been in its heyday.
The eerie images give a sense that the entire boat was stuck in time, unable to move on, waiting for its passengers to return.