MS Asuka II

MS Asuka II (飛鳥II) is a cruise ship owned and operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. She was originally built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan, as Crystal Harmony for Crystal Cruises. In 2006, Crystal Harmony was transferred from the fleet of Crystal Cruises to that of Crystal's parent company, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and entered service under her current name.^[1] As of August 2022^[update], she was the largest cruise ship in Japan.

Asuka II in 2009.
History
Japan
Name	1990–2006: Crystal Harmony 2006 onwards: Asuka II (飛鳥II)
Owner	1990–2006: Crystal Cruises 2006 onwards: Nippon Yusen Kaisha[1]
Operator	1990–2006: Crystal Cruises 2006 onwards: Nippon Yusen Kaisha[1]
Port of registry	1990–2006: Nassau,  Bahamas 2006–2013: Yokohama,  Japan
Builder	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki, Japan[1]
Yard number	2100[1]
Launched	30 September 1989[1]
Acquired	July 1990[1]
Identification	IMO number: 8806204[1] MMSI number: 432545000 Call sign 7JBI
Status	In service
General characteristics
Type	Cruise ship
Tonnage	50,142 GT[2] 8,642 DWT[1]
Length	241 m (790 ft 8 in)[2]
Beam	29.6 m (97 ft 1 in)[2]
Draught	7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)[2]
Decks	8[3]
Installed power	Four MAN diesel Engines 32,800 kW (combined)[4]
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)[2]
Capacity	960 passengers[4]
Crew	545[4]
Japanese name
Kanji	飛鳥II
Hiragana	あすかツー
Transcriptions Romanization Asuka II

Service history

1990–2006: Crystal Harmony

Asuka II as Crystal Harmony

During Crystal Harmony's maiden voyage in the South American and Caribbean waters, the ship caught on fire due to a fuel leak in an auxiliary engine room some 200 miles (320 km) from Cristóbal. Crystal Harmony drifted without power for sixteen hours but after repairs made it to port under her own steam and disembarked her passengers in Panama. She sailed to the island of Curaçao, escorted by a tugboat, for repairs.^[5]

2006 onwards: Asuka II

Asuka II moored at Kobe, Japan in September 2006

After fifteen years of service, Crystal Harmony was retired from the Crystal fleet in 2005. She was transferred to the parent company Nippon Yusen Kaisha to replace the Asuka. She then underwent renovation and re-entered service as Asuka II.^{[citation needed]}

She caught fire again on June 16, 2020, while at dock in Yokohama.^[6]

The last voyage will end on 29 March 2025 in Yokohama, to be followed be a world cruise from Yokohama to Kobe.^[7][8]

2021 COVID-19 case

On 30 April 2021, the ship was en route from the Port of Yokohama and was scheduled to stop at Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures when one case of COVID-19 was detected on board. The passenger was reportedly stable and in isolation in a cabin. The ship returned to Yokohama where the rest of passengers and crew were disembarked.^[9]