MONET is a remarkably long-lived small passenger and cruise vessel built at Varna, Bulgaria, in 1970, which remains commercially active more than half a century after entering service.
Originally constructed as the Soviet passenger/cargo vessel YUSHAR, she spent the first 27 years of her career connected with Northern Shipping before moving into the Mediterranean and being transformed into an intimate expedition-style cruise ship.
After briefly becoming STELLA DALMATIAE, the vessel adopted the name MONET in 1998 and has retained it ever since.
At only 68 metres long and carrying around 56 passengers, MONET is radically different from modern mass-market cruise ships. She remains active in 2026, operating small-ship cruises around Greece, Croatia and the wider Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean.
Vessel Details
Current Name: MONET
Former Names: STELLA DALMATIAE, YUSHAR
IMO: 7045803
MMSI: 376457000
Call Sign: J8VE3
Type: Small Passenger / Cruise Vessel
Flag: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Port of Registry: Kingstown
Built: 1970
Builder: Georgi Dimitrov Shipyard, Varna, Bulgaria
Yard Number: 903
Keel Laid: 30 September 1969
Completed: 1 June 1970
Length Overall: 68.10 m
Length Between Perpendiculars: 62.20 m
Beam: 10.10 m
Draught: approx. 3.2–3.3 m in current service
Gross Tonnage: 1,453 GT
Deadweight: 221 t
Passenger Capacity: approx. 56
Cabins: approx. 30
Crew: approx. 28
Main Engines: 2 × Caterpillar 3412 DITA
Total Main Engine Power: approx. 1,000 kW
Propulsion: Twin fixed-pitch propellers
Service Speed: approx. 12–13 knots
Current Cruise Operator: associated with Noble Caledonia operations
Current Status: Active.
Built in the Soviet Era
The vessel was laid down at Georgi Dimitrov Shipyard in Varna on:
30 September 1969
and completed during:
1970.
Although the ship was constructed in Bulgaria, she was built for Soviet service.
Her original name was:
YUSHAR
and she entered service with interests associated with the Soviet Northern Shipping Company.
Her original home port was:
Arkhangelsk.
The vessel therefore began her career in a very different operating environment from the warm-water cruise destinations with which she would later become associated.
YUSHAR
YUSHAR was originally designed as a:
passenger / cargo vessel
rather than as the small luxury cruise ship seen today.
She remained under Soviet ownership through the end of the USSR and subsequently passed into Russian registry following the political changes of the early 1990s.
The vessel retained the YUSHAR name until:
1997.
This means she spent approximately:
27 years
under her original identity — by far the longest individual chapter of her career before becoming MONET.
From Russia to Croatia
In 1997, YUSHAR left her Russian career behind.
The ship transferred to Croatian interests and briefly adopted the name:
STELLA DALMATIAE.
Her registry also changed, with Split becoming the home port during this transitional period.
The name reflected the vessel's new connection with the Dalmatian coast, which would become central to her later cruise career.
Converted for Small-Ship Cruising
During the late 1990s, the former Soviet passenger vessel was substantially adapted for a completely different type of operation.
Instead of carrying larger numbers of passengers and cargo, she was reconfigured as a small cruise ship with accommodation for only around:
56 guests.
This transformation created the intimate cruise configuration for which the vessel subsequently became known.
The ship's relatively small dimensions gave her access to ports, anchorages and islands that would be impossible for modern large cruise liners.
STELLA DALMATIAE → MONET
The STELLA DALMATIAE identity lasted only briefly.
In 1998, the vessel became:
MONET.
The complete name history is therefore remarkably simple considering the vessel's age:
YUSHAR → STELLA DALMATIAE → MONET
Unlike many other ships of similar age, MONET has now retained the same name for almost three decades.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Flag
In June 1998, the vessel transferred to the flag of:
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
with:
Kingstown
as her port of registry.
She has retained this flag arrangement for most of her modern cruise career.
Her current radio identity is:
Call Sign: J8VE3
MMSI: 376457000.
West Wind and Split
MONET has maintained a close connection with:
Split, Croatia
through much of her Mediterranean career.
PiraeuShips records identified:
West Wind – Split
as both owner and manager during the vessel's 2022 Piraeus visit.
Other registry histories also connect the ship with Croatian companies and ship-management interests based in Split.
Noble Caledonia
A new chapter began when British specialist cruise operator:
Noble Caledonia
added MONET to its programme.
The vessel had originally been expected to join the company's operation around 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the plan.
During the interruption she remained at Brodosplit in Croatia, undergoing refurbishment, maintenance and preparation.
In April 2022, Noble Caledonia completed a detailed pre-service inspection covering safety, navigation, maintenance, crew certification and public-health requirements.
The ship then began operating for the company's small-ship cruise programme.
Only 56 Passengers
One of MONET's most distinctive characteristics is her extremely small passenger capacity.
Modern specifications give approximately:
30 cabins
for just:
56 passengers.
Crew numbers are around:
28.
This produces a crew-to-passenger ratio close to:
1 crew member for every 2 guests.
At 1,453 GT, MONET is smaller than many modern superyachts and drastically smaller than today's large cruise ships carrying 4,000–6,000 passengers.
Classic Small-Ship Atmosphere
The ship's small size is central to her modern role.
Instead of large entertainment complexes, shopping promenades and dozens of restaurants, MONET offers a much more traditional style of cruising.
Her dimensions allow access to:
small Greek islands
Croatian coastal towns
Adriatic harbours
and remote anchorages.
This destination-focused style is similar to expedition cruising, although MONET operates primarily in relatively warm Mediterranean waters.
Machinery
Historical technical records identify the ship's current propulsion arrangement as:
2 × Caterpillar 3412 DITA diesel engines
driving:
two fixed-pitch propellers.
Combined power is approximately:
1,000 kW.
The vessel's commercial speed is around:
12–13 knots.
For a ship now more than 55 years old, her modest speed is entirely appropriate for itineraries designed around scenic coastal cruising rather than rapid port-to-port transportation.
Piraeus in 2022
MONET has developed a particularly visible connection with Piraeus during her modern cruise career.
The vessel was photographed at the Piraeus anchorage on 23 May 2022, shortly after joining Noble Caledonia operations.
PiraeuShips published the dedicated:
MONET – IMO 7045803
entry in August 2022.
At that time she was already more than:
52 years old.
Repeated Returns to Piraeus
The 2022 call was not an isolated appearance.
MONET returned to the wider Piraeus area repeatedly during subsequent seasons.
She was photographed again at Piraeus on:
1 May 2023
and was documented departing the port once more on:
4 June 2025.
The ship therefore developed a recurring connection with Piraeus rather than simply making a one-off cruise call.
Still Active in 2026
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of MONET's story is that she remains commercially active in:
2026
— some 56 years after construction.
AIS records from September 2026 show the ship continuing to cruise around Greek waters.
During the month she was recorded on voyages involving:
Sarandë
Preveza
Samos
and
Lipsi.
Recent tracking also recorded the ship underway in the Ionian and Aegean Seas under her long-established Saint Vincent and the Grenadines identity.
More Than Half a Century at Sea
By 2026, MONET has accumulated one of the longest active careers of any passenger vessel regularly visiting Greek waters.
Her career can broadly be divided into three periods:
1970–1997 – YUSHAR / Soviet and Russian passenger-cargo service
1997–1998 – STELLA DALMATIAE / transition to Mediterranean cruising
1998–present – MONET / small-ship cruise career
The fact that the ship continues carrying paying cruise passengers more than half a century after delivery makes her an increasingly rare survivor of an earlier generation of passenger-ship construction.
Piraeus Connection
MONET has a well-documented relationship with Piraeus.
PiraeuShips recorded her during the 2022 cruise season, and the ship has subsequently returned to the port on multiple occasions.
Her repeated presence is particularly notable because most ships built in 1970 disappeared from commercial passenger service decades ago.
Every modern Piraeus visit therefore adds another chapter to the extraordinary career of this veteran Bulgarian-built vessel.
PiraeuShips Record
MONET was recorded at Piraeus by PiraeuShips in 2022 during the modern cruise chapter of one of the oldest passenger vessels still operating regularly in Greek waters. Built at the Georgi Dimitrov Shipyard in Varna in 1970 as the Soviet passenger/cargo vessel YUSHAR, she spent approximately 27 years under her original identity before becoming STELLA DALMATIAE and then MONET in 1998. Converted into an intimate small cruise ship carrying only around 56 guests, MONET subsequently developed a long association with the Croatian coast and specialist Mediterranean cruising. More than half a century after construction, she remains active in 2026 and continues to visit Greek islands and ports including Piraeus. The PiraeuShips footage therefore documents an increasingly rare survivor from a completely different era of passenger shipping.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.
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