MV Geysir
MV Geysir is a U.S.-flagged general cargo/container ship owned by TransAtlantic Lines LLC. Originally named Amazonia, the 90-meter ship was built by American Atlantic Shipping in 1980 to serve a route from the United States to Brazil. In 1983, the ship was seized by the United States Maritime Administration for nonpayment of government loans.
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Geysir |
| Owner | TransAtlantic Lines LLC |
| Port of registry | United States |
| Route | United States – The Azores |
| Builder | Equitable Shipyard Inc., Madisonville, Louisiana |
| Yard number | 1716 |
| Laid down | 1 January 1977 |
| Launched | 20 January 1979 |
| Completed | 1980 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | General cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 90.1 m (296 ft) LOA |
| Beam | 13.7 m (45 ft) |
| Depth | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
Approximate routes of the Geysir: From the U.S. East Coast to Iceland, Azores, and Brazil. | |
In 1984, it was renamed Rainbow Hope and leased by a small startup company to serve a route between the United States and the American military base at Keflavik, Iceland. As Rainbow Hope the ship was central in an international disagreement between the United States and Iceland that would span years, be compared by The Chicago Tribune to the plot of the movie The Mouse That Roared, and involve political personalities including Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ken Starr, Elizabeth Dole, George Shultz, and Ronald Reagan.
After finally losing the Iceland route, the ship was renamed Juno, bought by Norwegian owners and worked in the Norwegian trade from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, it was bought by TransAtlantic Lines, renamed Geysir and put back on the U.S.–Iceland route, leading to further tensions between the United States and Iceland. After the 2006 closing of the United States Naval Station in Keflavik, the ship has gone on to carrying cargo to U.S. activities in the Azores.