aMaNdA bRiNg YoU tO oThEr PlAcEs: MV DOULOS

I believe that the recent activity on 28 August 2009 - 30 September 2009 is the MV DOULOS came to KOTA KINABALU here!!! And many people still do not know that what is Doulos Ship including some of my non - Christian Friends as well~

The MV Doulos is the world's oldest active ocean-faring passenger ship. She is now owned by the German charity Gute Bücher für Alle (English: Good Books for All - GBA), and is used as a floating bookshop. The ship has previously been known as the SS Medina, the SS Roma, and the MV Franca C at 1977.

The history of MV DOULOS is the Medina was built in 1914 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company for the Mallory Steamship Company of the United States. She was a freighter serving the Atlantic; during World War II she served with the United States Coast Guard.
The Panamanian company Naviera San Miguel SA acquired the Medina in 1948; they renamed the ship the Roma, and converted her into a passenger ship with cabins for 287 people, and dormitories for an additional 694 people.

In 1952 Naviera San Miguel resold the Roma to Linea Costa, an Italian company. At this time the SS Roma, a steamship, was converted into a motor vessel and renamed the MV Franca C. She carried passengers between Italy and Argentina. In 1959, the Franca C was adapted into a cruise liner, principally cruising the Mediterranean.

In 1977, Gute Bücher für Alle acquired the Franca C, and renamed her the Doulos (Greek for servant). In her current role, she is manned by a volunteer crew and visits sea ports world-wide.The MV Doulos currently holds the biggest floating library in the world. Normally there is somewhere around 3000 to 5000 books on the shelf and half a million in the hold.[citation needed]

For details on their current port and a list of future ports, visit official website.
She is currently doing her last world tour and was planned to be de-commissioned in 2010 when the SOLAS regulations are due to be introduced.

Over 20 million visitors have been welcomed on board for tours, programmes and visits to the floating book fair.With stops in over 500 ports of call, this unique ship has visited more than 100 countries in including Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and many island nations.Doulos is recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest active ocean-going passenger ship.

The Doulos Ship are bringing KNOWLEDGE, HELP and HOPE~
a) Knowledge : - 20 million people in over one hundred countries have visited the onboard book fair. Academic texts and educational literature are regulary donated to communities in particular needs.

b) Help : - Crew and staff often participate in many practical assistace projects such as providing medical relief, buiding schools and renovating orphanages in the developing world.

c) Hope : - The all volunteer crew serve on boars as a practical expression of their Christian Faith. Their lifestyle and personal experiences are testimony of lives transformed by GOD's love.