the 'Kareliya' cruise ferry in Soviet days, late 1970s

The Kareliya was built by the Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard, Finland, launched on 14 April 1976 and delivered in December 1976. On 1 June 1981 she was grounded while on a cruise near Arrecife, Canary Isles, and her passengers had to be evacuated. Following the grounding she sailed to Tyne, United Kingdom for repairs. In addition to repairs the chance was taken to convert her into a cruise ship. The Kareliya received a more extensive expansion of her forward superstructure than her four sister ships. In December 1982 the Kareliya was renamed Leonid Brezhnev in honour of the recently-deceased long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev. In 1989 the ship reverted to her original name.

In 1995 the Kareliya was transferred to Maddock Trading and re-flagged to Liberia. In 1996 she reverted to Ukrainian flag. On 17 March 1997 she was arrested at Nouméa due to debts of her owners. In May 1998 she was sold to Kaalbye Group, renamed Olvia and moved back under the Liberian flag. On 17 September 2001 she was sold to K&O Shipping and used for service with Peace Boat. On 20 December 2004 she was renamed Neptune, on 14 April 2005 CT Neptune and on 27 May 2006 she reverted to Neptune. Subsequently she was sold to Walden Maritime and used for casino cruising out of Hong Kong.

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