A great view of this adults only ship, the Marco Polo sailing into the Tyne filmed by our video reporter in the north, David James Taylor. The film really examines the exterior of the ship and allows you to get a feel of the size of the ship and imagine the history it could tell. We all love ship spotting and this classic ship has style and secrets. It was named the Alexandr Pushkin (the statue of whom we saw in Art Square on the Emperors and Assassinations tour in St Petersburg) from its launch in 1965 until it became the Marco Polo in 1991. It had major works, modifications and alterations after leaving duty for the Soviet Union’s Baltic Shipping Company. At 176m it is just a little bit longer than Roman Abramovich’s yacht. It can travel at 19.5 knots and carries 820 passengers in more style than the previous incarnation which carried 915 passengers. It was at one time one of only three ships in service crossing the Atlantic but ceased that duty in 1980 after carrying the Russian Olympic team home. Like much history there are other versions of what this ship did and where it was and some say it was for a time working for the Russian Navy. Now with Cruise & Maritime Voyages a company formed in 2009, when their German-based Transocean Tours filed for bankruptcy, so you could argue the ship stayed with the same carers. One of five ships in the Cruise and Maritime Voyages fleet. The ship has now been scrapped.