History

Argentina was launched March 12, 1958 and christened by Mrs. William T. Moore, wife of the Moore-McCormack lines president.[5] The ship departed Pascagoula December 1, 1958 bound for New York to be delivered.[6] The ship departed on her maiden voyage December 12, 1958.[7]

Naming history: Argentina → Veendam → Brasil → Veendam → Monarch Star → Veendam → Bermuda Star (1984–01/09/1990) → Enchanted Isle → New Orleans.[7]

In 1968, Captain Charles Reid, Ship master of Argentina, disappeared from the ship while underway in the Caribbean and was lost at sea.[8] His death was labelled an "apparent suicide" by Moore-McCormack lines.[9]

Under the name Monarch Star, the ship suffered an engine failure in January 1977 of the coast of Cuba forcing 368 passengers to transfer to a sister ship Monarch Sun.[10]

Under the name Bermuda Star, the ship was undergoing a $25 million ($49.4 million today) overhaul by Southwest Marine, Inc at the Port of Portland, Oregon in December 1989 when a fire broke out on board. The fire resulted in a five alarm response and five of the crew went to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.[11] The fire started on the promenade deck and was started by a cutting torch. Damage was estimated at $2 million ($3.95 million today).[12]
Enchanted Isle as seen in Kiel, 1994.

Bermuda Star ran aground in Buzzards Bay, five miles from Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in poor visibility in June 1990. The ship sustained a 90 ft long tear in the hull, two feet wide near the fuel tanks. Over a thousand passengers were evacuated[13] and about 7,500 U.S. gallons (28,000 L) of number 6 fuel oil was spilled.[14][15] The ship was to be towed to a drydock in New York for repairs.[16] The incident occurred in the days following the June 8, 1990 Mega Borg Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the story was paired with the Mega Borg story in news media.

She served Commodore Cruise Line under the name Enchanted Isle.[7]

In 1994, Enchanted Isle became a floating hotel in Saint Petersburg, Russia, returning to the Commodore fleet the following year.[17]