MV PS Sudan

PS Sudan was built by Bow, McLachlan & Co in Paisley, Scotland (yard no. 315) and was completed and launched in 1921. The steel-hulled side-wheel paddle steamer had a tonnage of about 600 tons and measured roughly 69–72 m (228–236 ft) in length with a beam of 9.8 m, making it one of the largest ships in Thomas Cook’s Nile fleet. Originally constructed for the Egyptian royal family, she entered service in 1921 as a luxurious Nile cruise steamer with 23 cabins (including several suites). During the 1930s PS Sudan was a symbol of the ‘Golden Age’ of Nile travel; Agatha Christie and her husband famously honeymooned aboard in 1933, later inspiring parts of her novel Death on the Nile. The outbreak of World War II halted Nile tourism, and for decades the vessel was laid up and fell into disrepair. Around the year 2000 the French travel company Voyageurs du Monde purchased the deteriorating Sudan and carried out an extensive restoration. By 2006 she had been refitted with new diesel engines and modern accommodations while preserving her historic paddle-steamer appearance. Sudan resumed regular cruises between Luxor and Aswan and continues to operate today as a luxury boutique cruise ship on the Nile. Her survival and continued use make PS Sudan an enduring landmark of Nile river travel history.