SS SeaBreeze  SS "SeaBreeze" was a cruise ship that made headlines when its passengers were unloaded mid-way through their cruise and the vessel was put under arrest in Halifax Harbour. The ship then sank in international waters three months later. It was owned by International Shipping Partners and insured for $20M when its value was estimated at $5–6M. The ship was launched on 31 March 1957 and completed in March 1958 by the Ansaldo Sestri Ponente shipyard in Italy as "Federico C", the first new ship built for the Costa Line. The ship initially provided a liner service between Genoa, Italy and Buenos Aires, Argentina via Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1966 "Federico C" was transferred to a service between Genoa and Florida, the Caribbean and Venezuela. The ship had a major refit in 1968, then added Caribbean cruises between trans-Atlantic trips. "Federico C" operated cruises exclusively from 1972 to 1983, when the ship was sold. In 1983, Premier Cruises obtained the ship and named it "Royale"; it became "StarShip Royale" in the same year. In 1988, the ship was renamed "SeaBreeze" when it was placed in service for Dolphin Cruise Lines. One year later, the ship was refurbished. Premier took possession of the ship when it acquired Dolphin in 1997. When Premier went out of business in September 2000, the ship was ordered to immediately cease operations. At the time, it was docked at a Canadian port, and sailed some days later to be laid up in Freeport, Bahamas. On December 17, 2000, the ship sank off the coast of North Carolina/Virginia. The boiler allegedly broke off and damaged the ship. The investigation into the sinking of "Seabreeze I" caused international concern, based upon numerous suspicious incidents, including the fact that the ship was likely to fetch only between $5 and $6 million for scrap, but had a $20 million insurance policy on it. The cruise ship sank in international waters flying the Panamanian flag, making Panama responsible for the investigation of the sinking. The ship's captain told the United States Coast Guard rescuers that his boat was in imminent danger of sinking as a result of its engine room being flooded in high winds and seas. At the time, the Coast Guard rescuers believed that it was highly unlikely for a ship that large to sink that quickly, and were astonished when the Greek captain demanded that all hands be extracted from the ship, instead of requesting salvage tugs and trying to tow it to shore for recovery.