Pearl Mist, picture taken at the Shelbourne Shipyard

Ship Information:

2010: Year Built
2011: Year Entered Fleet
Marshall Islands: Country of Registry
6,000 Tonnage
210 Passengers (Double Occupancy)
6 Passenger Decks
65 Number of Crew
2 Accessible Staterooms (all Categories)

In May 2009, the ship's sea trials ended with the line claiming that deficiencies had been uncovered that required the cancellation of its planned inaugural season. The rest of 2009 came and went. Ditto for 2010. Word filtered out that Pearl Seas was engaged in a dispute with Nova Scotia–based Irving Shipbuilding, which had designed and built the 210-passenger vessel. Now today, the Halifax Chronicle Herald (newspaper) is reporting that Pearl Seas is suing Irving for some $60 million, claiming that the U.S. Coast Guard and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (where the ship is registered) have identified violations of the international Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) standards, which set the safety bar for merchant ships from construction through continuing operation.

According to the lawsuit, Lloyd's Register, the ship's classification society (which inspects the vessel for compliance with safety regulations), has still not given Pearl Mist the green light, while the Marshall Islands declined "'to register the vessel under the Marshall Islands flag’ due to material safety issues."