My photo of the 1955 West German built Wappen Von Hamburg Class AURORA (ex-WAPPEN VON HAMBURG, DELOS, POLAR STAR, PACIFIC STAR, XANADU, EXPEX, FAITHFUL) of Christopher Willson seen undergoing restoration as a tourist attraction in Stockton, United States on August 20th, 2023.

Originally built for HADAGs Hamburg - Cuxhaven - Helgoland - Hörnum service as Ferry WAPPEN VON HAMBURG, she was sold out of the fleet in to Nomikos Line in 1960. Renamed DELOS, she was refitted as a cruise ship, and further operated as POLAR STAR, PACIFIC STAR, and XANADU. Her small size and limited capacity led to her being laid up in 1977, sold repeatedly, some of her fittings were auctioned off, she was temporarily used as a Factory Ship for crab from 1982 to 1984, and had had a stint as an Exhibition Vessel in 1985. Several failed future roles later, including as an accommodation ship, floating eye clinic, and yacht, under the names EXPEX and FAITHFUL. She was purchased by Christopher Willson in 2008 off Craigslist for $600,000, renamed AURORA in 2009, she has been undergoing restoration as a floating tourist attraction ever since, being moored in Stockton, United States since 2013.

Sister Ship: BUNTE KUH (IMO 5340493)

You can also see in this image the bow of the 1939 American built former Lighthouse Tender USCGC Fir (WLM-212) of The Lighthouse Project LLC, also undergoing restoration in Stockton. The sunken wreck of the 1957 Canadian Built former Minesweeper HMCS Chaleur (MCB 164) can be seen port side of the AURORA, having sunk there in fall of 2021 during temporary lay up, she has since been partially broken up.