Update:
The line's first newbuild, CAPE MAY LIGHT, was to be joined by sister vessel CAPE COD LIGHT in April, 2002, but in October, 2001 American Classic Voyages declared bankruptcy.
Delta Queen Coastal Voyages, (American Classic Voyages)
On June 9, 2000, the first hull for American Classic Voyages new fleet of coastal ships was successfully launched at Atlantic Marine, Inc., in Jacksonville, Florida.
The newly built ships of Delta Queen Coastal Voyages are modeled after the celebrated vessels that traveled the coastlines of New England during the golden age of coastal cruising. These elegant coastal vessels, had all but disappeared by the early 1900s. Now a hundred years later their will return to the coastal towns ushering in a new golden age on the coast.
The cv CAPE MAY LIGHT and the cv CAPE COD LIGHT, are "classically" designed coastal vessels featuring rich, New England Federal decor with 114 staterooms each.
The CAPE MAY LIGHT the first of the two 226-passenger ships was built at Atlantic Marine and began sailing nine itineraries along the U.S. East Coast in spring 2001.
Update: American Classic Voyages files Bankrupcy
October 19, 2001: American Classic Voyages, Inc. has filed for bankruptcy court protection and will cease most sailings. In Hawaii, SS INDEPENDENCE and MS PATRIOT will stop sailing on Saturday, October 20 after completing current cruises. The Delta Queen Vessels AMERICAN QUEEN, MISSISSIPPI QUEEN, COLUMBIA QUEEN and CAPE MAY LIGHT will stop sailing over the next three days. A fifth Delta Queen steamboat, the historic DELTA QUEEN, will continue to operate its Mississippi River voyages. American Classic said that of its bookings had fallen off since the terrorist attacks on September 11 and cancellations had risen to 30 percent. Rumors the company was in financial trouble had circulated for weeks and on Thursday, Nasdaq officials halted trading in American Classic's shares after they reached a new low of 46 cents each. Two weeks ago, insurers stopped offering polices for American Classic passengers wanting insurance against cruise cancellations. The move discouraged travel agents from booking passengers on the company's ships. American Classic has on order two new, 1,900-passenger ships under a planning stage at the Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi. The company said it hopes to work out a deal with Los Angeles based Northrop Grumman Corp., owner of the shipyard, and the U.S. Maritime Administration to keep the ship-building projects underway.Both coastal cruisers, CAPE MAY LIGHT completed in 2001 and CAPE COD LIGHT in 2002, were withdrawn from service following the financial collapse of American Classic Voyages; they remained laid up in Florida, for sale.
August 21, 2007: CAPE MAY LIGHT and CAPE COD LIGHT, laid up since the collapse of American Classic Voyages in 2001, have been bought by Hornblower Marine Services. Details on future deployment and operation to be announced.
Delta Queen Coastal Voyages Vessels:
C.V. CAPE MAY LIGHT C.V. CAPE COD LIGHT