Aristotle Onassis’ legendary super yacht, the “Christina O”, is once again sailing the Aegean’s waters, as the 99-meter vessel was recently spotted off the Peloponnese harbour town of Nafplio, in southeast Greece.
The luxury cruiser, which served as a Canadian royal navy anti-submarine frigate during WWII, has hosted such historical figures as Winston Churchill, King Farouk of Egypt, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, JFK, Frank Sinatra, as well as Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, among many others.
Onassis had bought the vessel for its scrap cost after the war before spending four million USD in 1954 – an massive sum by that day’s standards – to transform the former HMCS Stormont into a floating mansion.
After the Greek tycoon’s death in 1975 the super yacht passed into the hands of his daughter Christina Onassis, who donated the vessel to the Greek state for the purpose of serving as the presidential yacht.
Years of disused and lack of maintenance by the state left the vessel in disrepair, until it was purchased in 1998 by the late Greek shipowner John Paul Papanicolaou.
The vessel was overhauled and restored by 2001 at a cost of more than 50 million USD. The vessel is currently available for charter cruises.
